Sins of the Father
by Dark Maria
Summary: Part Two of Fair Winds of Cybertron. A dark secret from Megatron's past emerges to reignite the flames of war and strip away what he holds most dear... Be warned, this is WAY darker and full of evilness! Read and review, please. Formerly rated M.
1. Rising Son

-1Here begins the sequel to 'A Series of Impossibilities'. Be warned, this is WAY darker, more violent, and it contains all sorts of evilness.

Megatron and Zephyr share a sort of psychic link, and any and all strong emotions and/or sensations felt by one WILL be felt by the other.

//////////-- Anything passing along the link will be placed between four of these, two on each side.

I own only my characters, any and all OOC-ness, the evil stuff that happens and whatever isn't already claimed by somebody else.

Sins of the Father

A window opened in the silvery skyscraper's side and a slender coal-black form launched itself out, trailing a decidedly feminine-sounding giggle. Megatron must have been in a meeting, or busy doing something equally important that she didn't know about. Either way, he wasn't around. That was fine by Zephyr. She could fly on her own, and fly she did, soaring like a majestic black eagle through the eternally starry skies. The planet had boomed in population over the past few months, all of them Autobots. Since Megatron had become Lord High Protector again everything was running smoothly, they were not running low on anything, energon included, there was no fighting and best of all, no homicidal Decepticons to mess things up. She liked to watch life happening all around her, time turning in its endless dance, and here in the sky she could do just that. None of them would be disturbed by her presence since rarely if ever did anyone look up…

Had she also looked up she would have noticed a group flying above her, one of them shot at her and made a direct connection with her back. Another shot some sort of green ooze that hit her arm and froze it instantly. Practically knocked out of the air, she looked over her shoulder and saw them there. "What the…" Another shot was let off and it collided with her lower body, immobilizing her further. _"No!"_ She was being pulled down, dragged out of the sky, shivering from the cold, not understanding why they were doing this to her, knowing only that she was in trouble, cold and afraid… There was an evil laughter in the air, she looked up and saw what looked to be a twin of Megatron only this one was blue, purple, and slightly golden. //Stark terror flooded her mind for a moment, flooded more than her mind, before she pushed it away.// Setting her thrusters at maximum burn, she struggled to stay in the air.

Megatron was listening to his brother Optimus tell him about a few ideas the Autobots had come up with. He sighed, and remembered how boring this job was, but he listened and stashed the information away as Optimus told it. Suddenly he felt different, fear, he felt terror. Megatron bolted upright, getting everyone's attention. "Something's not right," he said and ran for the door.

Her mind was whirling. "It's him… It's him and it's not him… This is wrong, this makes no sense, cold, it's so cold, they're chasing me, I'm on maximum burn and I'm _still_ going down…" Another laugh reached her. "Well, well, so _you're_ the little wretch that corrupted my father," came a low voice that sounded exactly like Megatron, only crueler. He came closer to her. "We're freezing you in liquid nitrogen, which is immobilizing you quite nicely, and the reason, if you're wondering, why you're still going down is because freezing your now metal body takes away and drains your powers slowly but effectively," he grinned devilishly. The panic came back as she was forced to land, coupled with desperation. It was all she could do to keep her legs from giving out beneath her as she stood facing him. Still shivering, she felt her mind beginning to blur. Still, she fought it. Her whip took shape as she wished with all her heart that somebody would help her… //Panic and desperation…// Those were the only things she was feeling at that moment, but a third emotion quickly rose to join them. //Defiance.//

Megatron felt prickles of each emotion going through Zephyr's body. It pained him to even _think_ of what was going on. "Optimus, take as many of your men you can muster and check the ground level. Fireblaze, Dust Devil, Stormchaser, Typhoon, take to the skies and search every inch of the planet for her if you have to."

_"Like heck I'll let you take me_," she growled, lashing out with her whip. The Megatron twin only moved out of the way and avoided the pitiful attempt to harm him. "How pathetic you are, I have no idea how you, a little worm, could have altered my father so," he said, almost with a certain cynical charm. Her other arm was disabled, otherwise she would have used her cannon. This wasn't looking good in the slightest… She could still fight, but enough ice and she'd go down and she knew it. The evil twin sighed, bored. He motioned to the one with the liquid nitrogen blaster. "Frostbite, would you do the honors of freezing this leech completely?" The Decepticon nodded and aimed. "_You got it, _boss," he said and fired a giant wave of liquid nitrogen upon Zephyr. //The cold was unbearable, she could feel nothing else, could see nothing but white…// Three words passed through her mind. //"They got me."//

Megatron's bond with Zephyr was becoming a problem for his focus, but he knew that he had to hurry and find her before it was too late. He opened a multiparty com link. "Has anyone caught sight of her yet?" he asked. "No, sir," all except Optimus answered. "Optimus, have you found her?" he asked. "No, I'm sorry, Megatron." Megatron roared a loud expletive, then felt a shiver run down his silver spine and froze. "They got her," he said, more to himself, but the others heard over the com link.

It was so cold as to be painful, trapped in ice. She remembered this… She'd dreamed Megatron's memories and he'd found himself in a similar situation when he first arrived on Earth. Her mind was blurring, her thoughts slowing and growing dimmer. She tried to break free, but it was all she could do just to squirm feebly. //For a moment, she wondered if this was what it was like to die…//

Megatron had gotten a response from Dust Devil that he spotted Zephyr, and what looked like him. This made him wonder who it could be. That thought was shoved out of the way as Zephyr wondered about the feeling of death. "Hang in there, Zephyr, I'm coming!" he roared and transformed into that unmistakable warplane, streaking across the sky at an unbelievable speed. Even _he_ hadn't thought he was capable of going that fast.

//A momentary thought of Megatron drifted through her mind, a memory of the Army's attack back when they first met, the attack that had led to her discovering her powers…// She barely realized that she'd stopped struggling. //"I stopped them then… but who… will do the same… for me…?"// A warplane came out of nowhere and transformed into the silver being that was Megatron, falling in midair, he tackled the imposter and pinned him to the ground. The imposter smiled. "Hello, Father, glad you dropped by," the twin kicked Megatron off and got to his feet. The silver Decepticon had only one question. _"Who in the name of the Pit are you?" _The blue twin faked sadness. "Why, I'm hurt, Father, I am your creation, the spitting image of you as it were… _that is, if you hadn't switched sides!_" Megatron thought for a moment, thinking back somewhere in his memory, and finally it came to him like a kick to the stomach, wrenching his innards. "Galvatron," he muttered. The blue Decepticon smiled. "That's right," he somewhat sang, holding out the I in right.

//In Zephyr's mind, she feebly reached out…// Megatron looked over at the frozen prism that held his dear Zephyr when he felt her reaching out, he turned back to Galvatron. _"Let her go!" //_…before a surge of blinding white swept her away into a frigid darkness.//

Galvatron only smiled as he saw his father stop in shock, then run over to the frozen casket and beat on it. "No, Zephyr, _no!_" he yelled, trying so hard to break the liquid nitrogen ice. "It's too late, she's already shut down for the time being, but now for more pressing matters," Galvatron began, walking over to Megatron and slapping him in the face, sending the silver Decepticon to the floor. "How dare you turn your back on your followers for a petty thing like _her?_" he growled, pointing at the only being the silver Decepticon had ever dared to truly care about.

Megatron got to his feet and glared at his 'son'. "I did it because she saved me from complete deactivation, she is the one who forgave me when no one else would!" he roared and charged at Galvatron, taking him to the ground. "There was no reason to be a Decepticon anymore, I wanted redemption, I wanted the grace of the All Spark, for all the wrongdoings I did," he pinned the mostly purple transformer harder against the metal ground. "I cared for her."

//Cold. Cold and memories… memories of what they had shared…//

Galvatron growled and pushed Megatron off him as the silvery Decepticon abruptly shivered from the feelings crossing his and Zephyr's bond. He then brought his cannon up and blasted Megatron in the midsection, sending him sprawling face down on the ground. "Whiplash, Seahawk, Darkstorm, Brightshadow, Frostbite. Grab our target and let's get out of here!" he ordered, his minions doing as he said and took the frozen Zephyr into the sky. Galvatron looked down at his struggling creator with a wicked smile and kicked him. "You have become _weak, _Father," he scowled and spat in the silver Decepticon's face. Then he took to the stars and disappeared with his followers.

Optimus and the others arrived a minute later and found Megatron on the ground, blasted and beaten, struggling with all his might to just stand. Optimus ran over to him and turned him over, asking what had happened. The only response he received was a murmured "I failed…" The Autobot leader froze for a moment. His voice… It sounded so… broken.


	2. The nightmare begins

-1Here's REVISED chapter two.

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Far, far away, unknown to most, there was the blue planet of Nucryonis. It was a cold planet, almost similar to the atmosphere and temperatures of Pluto. There, in the deep confines of it's crystallite core, was the newly created Decepticon base. Galvatron ordered that Zephyr be taken to the brig, which was quickly done. He smiled wickedly at the helplessly frozen prisoner. Her eyes opened slightly within her prison, twin slivers of that unmistakable blue… She'd regained consciousness, but barely. Not awake enough to understand what was going on, all she could do was stare straight ahead in a semi-mindless fashion, shiver inwardly at the cold and wish _he_ was there. Galvatron ordered his medical officer to him. "Brightshadow, thaw her out, but only slightly. I want no mistakes, especially if that mistake causes her to get her powers back." Brightshadow bowed. "Yes, lord Galvatron." The medic entered the cell and aimed his arm at the frost confining the prisoner. His arm transformed into what looked to be a cannon, but instead of a blast, it shone an eerie grey light and dragged it down the liquid nitrogen prison, thawing Zephyr out until only a thin layer of the crystal casing was left.

Warmth… just a little, but even that was welcome. Her awareness sharpened slightly. The ice around her cracked, then shattered, spilling her onto the ground like a newly hatched baby bird. "Wh-what… j-ju-just…" Galvatron sneered. "You were thawed by my talented medical officer."

He dismissed Brightshadow, who nodded in return and disappeared from their presence. She couldn't stop shivering, couldn't quite stand up. All she could do was remain huddled on the floor in a half-frozen mess. "The reason why you're shivering is because you do not have a helpful little gadget my scientist Frostbite invented, an antifreeze gauge. This little trinket keeps us from freezing in this frozen tundra of a planet, thus we can move around and do whatever we like, just like it wasn't cold at all. Luckily for me, since you'll stay cold, you won't be able to use your powers and try to escape." He smiled wickedly. "Then again, it's a lot warmer down here than it is up there," he said, pointing to the ceiling. A useful piece of information, that… Now if only she could think of a way to use it! Not saying a word, she just watched him warily. Galvatron looked her up and down. "I don't see what my father sees in you, you look perfectly normal, nothing really all that special, except for the fact that you," he started and leaned in front of her, face to face, "Are the living incarnation of the All Spark," he finished, tilting her head up by her chin with a finger. Snarling in anger, eyes filled with hate, she whipped her head to the side, not willing to dignify this little exchange with eye contact. Galvatron's wicked smile vanished and he slapped Zephyr across the face. "Do not defy me, I could have blasted you when I had the chance, but in honesty, I need you," he growled threateningly. Her eyes narrowed as she glared right back at him. "I… w-wouldn't even… f-fix a p-po-pocket watch… for… y-you…" she hissed, remembering saying the exact same thing to Starscream so long ago. Galvatron snorted at her comment. "Oh, but you will, you have no choice in the matter. Because not only will I make you suffer, but I will also be punishing my father for his betrayal of his people," he said, laughing evilly. Struggling to gather her strength, she barely managed to rake her claws across his face and chest. Galvatron growled and punched her in the face, sending her flying into the back wall. He put a hand on his face and chest, feeling trickles of energon come from the scratches. "You piece of slag!" he yelled. "You will pay for that!" With that, he stormed out of the cell and locked it behind him before disappearing behind the corner.

//Her vision went white for a moment as her head struck the wall, and she could taste her own energon, spitting a thick clot on the floor before her.// Her defiance left her and she fought not to weep. //It was a bad idea to show weakness here but oh, she missed him so much…// Her head was throbbing and the cold was just about unbearable. Lying sprawled in the far corner, too weak to move, she just silently cried herself to sleep.

Megatron opened his eyes. Feeling something in his mouth, he spat, but nothing came out. He then felt loss, missing Zephyr terribly, knowing through the connection that she was freezing and weak, and that she missed him too. He sat up from the hospital bed, but was pushed back down by Optimus, who sat by the bed. "She's alive, Optimus, we have to find her," he said weakly. "Not until you've fully recovered," the Autobot said, pointing to his midsection, which was in extremely bad shape. "But they… they're _hurting_ her…" Reaching up, he seized his brother's shoulder in a feeble grip. "We can't… we can't just _leave_ her…" Receiving only the same reply, he once again tried to get up, trying his hardest to push his brother back. "If nobody else is going after her, _I_ will… _Forget_ my injuries…" Optimus looked up for a second, glancing off to the side. A moment later, Megatron felt a needle slide into his arm. Turning, he beheld Ratchet standing over him. "What…?" That harsh whisper was all he could manage because he suddenly felt so very _tired_… It was then that he realized it. He'd just been sedated. Slowly, weakly turning his head, he shot Optimus a betrayed look. The Autobot's reply echoed in the growing darkness of his mind. "You didn't exactly give me much of a choice, Brother…"

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	3. Enter Seahawk

-1I forgot to give Bubbilicious Genius credit for helping me with this.

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There was a clanging of keys, and the opening of rusty hinges. Opening her eyes and trying to gather herself, she looked toward the door. "Here we go again," she said to herself. In came a rather large and bulky Decepticon, holding something in his hands which couldn't very well be seen in the dark. "Galvatron said to bring you this," he said almost shyly, laying down a tray before her which had energon on it. She watched him cautiously, not sure whether to trust him or the energon he had placed before her. It could have been poisoned for all she knew. The bronze and turquoise Decepticon looked at her curiously. "Why aren't you eating?" he asked innocently. "I'm… not sure. Could be poisoned." The sea plane looked down at the energon and looked at it. "Why would it be poisoned?" He wasn't the brightest of the Decepticons, that was for sure. "Because your leader is really mean," she answered. The Decepticon nodded, oddly agreeing with her. "He is sometimes, I'm sorry he has been to you." She found herself smiling at him, a little less afraid, her guard dropping a bit. "My name is Seahawk," he said through his mouth panel. "Zephyr," she replied. "That's a nice name," he said, his voice, guessing that they fit his voice to his body structure. Her mind was hard at work. Seahawk, huh? Perhaps she could trick him somehow, find a way to make an escape or just charm him… If only she could think clearly! "You should eat, it'll help," he said, trying to make her feel better, even though he knew being in prison was probably bad enough to make anyone depressed. "…Thank you." A little more relaxed, not as afraid, she took the energon he had given her and began to eat. Seahawk smiled slightly as she ate and went to walk out of the cell. "Wait," she called out after him. "What's a nice guy like you doing here in this pack of meanies?" Seahawk turned and looked at her, wondering why someone would ask him that, laughing slightly and rubbing the back of his helmet he replied "I guess, maybe it's because my base programming was an Autobot," his laughter died slightly and he put his hand down to his side. "Until Galvatron came," he said, his voice fading to inaudibility. His eyes dimmed with sorrow and he walked out of the cell, locking it behind him and disappeared like all the rest had previously. Things made sense now. "Galvatron," she said to herself. "So _that's_ the blue one's name."

"Indeed it is," came the cruel voice of Galvatron, entering the cell. "I see you ate your energon, good," he said. "Can't have you getting too weak." She looked at him. "Here we _definitely_ go again," she said to herself. Well, since he was there, she decided she might as well either amuse herself or just be as defiant as possible. "I think your name sounds stupid. I'm going to call you Blue Meanie." Galvatron was taken aback by that, he just sort of stared for a moment. "Blue Meanie?" he stopped. "THAT IS stupid!" A laugh escaped her. "You're blue and you're a meanie. _I_ think it suits you perfectly," she grinned. Galvatron scowled at her. "I'm not blue, I'm purple, blue, and gold." She continued to laugh. "Close enough for me!" He growled. "Fine, be childish, call me what you like, I am still your captor and you are my prisoner," he said, getting in her face. She had only one thing to say. "You have bad breath!" Galvatron glared at her. "Well, your arms are weak!" Then she delivered her bomb. "You, 'sir', are a glitch-riddled piece of slag. Stick it up your tailpipe and explode." Galvatron was now infuriated, his metal face turning a dark magenta. He almost looked like he was going to explode. _"Why you little brat!" _he roared and grabbed her by the neck, squeezing tightly. She struggled for air, wheezing and gagging, uselessly trying to break free, but that had been absurdly satisfying.

Seahawk peeked around the corner. "Galvatron, sir," he announced slightly timidly. "What do you want, Seahawk? I'm busy strangling my prisoner," Galvatron snarled as he put his other hand around her neck and shook her savagely. "But sir, Frostbite just finished that weapon you wanted him to design," he insisted. "Can't it wait?" Galvatron asked. "I don't think so, Galvatron, sir, you know how Frostbite is when he gets something finished." The angry Decepticon leader sighed and let go of the gasping Zephyr, then walked out of the cell. "I'll be back for you later," he growled and disappeared. "Seahawk, keep your eyes on the prisoner, you're officially on guard duty," he said before he completely left and slammed the door behind him. In more than a little pain, she just stayed down. //She could still almost feel those powerful hands on her throat, choking the life out of her…// Gasping and coughing, clutching at her neck, she silently thanked Seahawk for the interruption.

Megatron coughed a little in his hospital bed, feeling his neck constricting painfully, but it soon ended. Something was happening to her. He looked over at the tired and sleeping Optimus at his side and the drowsy, overworked Ratchet asleep on his desk, then slowly, silently, stood up and tried to leave without waking either of the two up. He was going to save Zephyr whether he was at full strength or not, but he was still very weak, and the fact that he was still woozy from the sedatives he'd been given sure wasn't helping anything. The whole room was spinning and tilting sickeningly as he slowly stumbled forward, not quite able to straighten up fully due to the fact that he still hadn't quite recovered. Clutching at his damaged midsection, he struggled toward the door.

//Now she wept wholeheartedly. She had a feeling she wouldn't last long. Not like this…// Tired, she simply stayed where she was and let sleep claim her. //She felt so alone, utterly lost, her spark empty and longing for touch… longing to be enveloped in his touch… the one who held her in the dark and made her warm. Megatron. Her dreams were a haven, for she could retreat into memories. He was there.//

Megatron sighed as he felt what Zephyr felt, wishing he was there to care for her and help her, to save her, rescue her from the evil being he had created in his own image in case something happened to him, or in the event of his death. How foolish he had been to create that thing, that monster made in his image, known as Galvatron. Well, he'd correct that mistake, save his beloved from his 'son' and set things right, no matter what it took. In tune with that thought, a sudden spasm of pain ran through him, making him gasp and just about double over. Reaching out blindly with one hand, he groped around for the doorframe and grasped it, leaning against it to support himself as he struggled with the pain. Awareness abruptly flickered. Even though he clung to the doorframe as if for dear life, he still found himself falling to his knees. Panting harshly, shaking his head in an attempt to clear it, he waited for his hold on consciousness to return to being firm. Everything was still quiet. Perhaps Optimus and Ratchet were too deeply asleep to have heard him fall… He was just barely starting to get back up when he felt gentle hands on his shoulders. Looking up, he saw both his brother and the medic, one on each side and both of them helping him back up. "Didn't I tell you about this?" Megatron looked to Optimus. "And didn't _I_ tell you she…" His words abruptly dissolved into a cry of pain as he doubled over again, and he would have fallen completely had the other two not been holding him up. A moment later he found himself back in the bed he'd been in mere minutes earlier, and he found he didn't mind that much as he just laid there gasping for a few minutes. He felt the needle again, but this time oblivion didn't follow. Instead, the pain disappeared as if washed away in a mighty flood. A painkiller, that was all it was. A soft sigh escaped him as he relaxed, feeling remarkably peaceful. "Optimus…" Even he himself was amazed at how weak he sounded. His brother leaned in close to listen to what he had to say. "Galvatron… he nearly strangled her to death. I felt it… She almost died."

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Things are starting to get worse…


	4. Talk about awkward

-1In her dreams, she was at peace. The pain was gone. Seahawk looked through the bars and smiled behind his mouth panel at the sight of her sleeping soundly from her trying day. He nodded and turned around, keeping guard over her and the cell. She'd moved in her sleep, had curled up in a manner that one could almost call cute. Still she slept, shivering slightly but otherwise peaceful. Seahawk seemed to yawn. He had been on guard duty for about eight hours already, though it was hard to tell time on this planet, seeing as it screwed up his clock. But it felt that long to him. He sank to the floor and sat against the bars of the cell, letting out another long yawn. Waking up, she looked over at the bars and giggled a little. "Be nice or get out? Be nice or get out? Ah, decisions, decisions…" she mused silently. Loud snores came from the big Decepticon at the door, indicated he had gone into recharge. "If I wasn't me, I'd kick me for not taking this opportunity," she eventually said, moving in closer. Seahawk fell over and rolled away from the door a little, The keys on his hip just out of reach. She grumbled to herself. "Great. Just great." Seahawk stirred and his eyes opened and saw Zephyr near the bars. He shifted a little and looked at her better. "What are you doing?" Had she still been human, she would have blushed. "I… um…" He looked down at her still reaching hand, which was nearing his hip. He got the wrong impression and if he too were human, he would have blushed also. "Uh… umm… sorry, lady, I'm not that kind of Decepticon," he said scooting back a little more. "EEP! Is _that_ what it looks like?!" She scooted back as well. There was a sharp clang as she pulled her arm back as fast as she could, accidentally whacking one of the bars. "OW!" Seahawk sat up, alert. "Are you okay?" She smiled. "I'm fine. I… didn't mean to startle you." There was a pause. "Heh," he started rubbing the back of his head "It's okay," he said. "but what were you really trying to do?" he asked, knowing that what he had thought earlier could not have been what she was trying to do, seeing her reaction after he caught her reaching for his hip. She looked down, a little ashamed. "…I was trying to take your keys." Seahawk looked at the keys on his hip and then looked back up at her. Hearing the soft sound of jingling keys, she looked up at Seahawk. "What are you doing?" she asked in all innocence. "Getting you out of here," he said, standing up and unlocking the cell door, opening it wide for her. She couldn't keep the surprise off her face as she struggled to her feet. Stumbling and nearly falling, she shivered. "But… the cold…"

All of a sudden, the hallway resounded with the as yet distant sound of approaching footsteps. "Oh no," she said. "We are _so_ busted. Seahawk, act like a mindless zombie and I'll keep you out of trouble." He looked at the prison door and opened his chest plate and took out a silver and blue device and put it in Zephyr's hands. "Keep it, it'll help you stay warm," he said, starting to feel cold, then took her advice. "Uhh…" he started trying to act as mindless as possible and just stood there with a blank expression on his face. Stowing the device away, she prepared to look as surprised as possible. The Decepticons, led by Galvatron burst through the door. Galvatron growled as he found Zephyr out of her cell. _"What's going on?"_She gasped. "Galvatron!" Not knowing how to activate the device, much less use it, she was still on the verge of freezing. Seahawk fell over, acting unconscious. A smirk crossed her face as she glanced down at him. "You made it hard, not impossible." Galvatron glared and went up to her. Grabbing her by the arm, he shoved her back in the cell, taking the keys from her, he locked the door. "I'll make sure it doesn't work this time. Brightshadow, turn the thermostat down as far as it will go."

An idea came to her. "…Hey Galvatron," she purred seductively. He sort of stared at her questioningly as he took a step closer to the door. "What?" he asked a little harshly. "I just want to know one thing… are you a real _man?_" The last word was emphasized by a very well-placed kick that would have totally incapacitated a human male. The blue Decepticon bent over slightly and suppressed a grunt. He then glared at Zephyr and squeaked as he turned and limped out of the prison, the other Decepticons quietly following, leaving Seahawk, knowing he would wake up later. Suppressed snickering followed him out.

Once they left and the door shut, Seahawk got up and burst out laughing. She yelled at the closed door, _"And stay out!"_A minute later she was doing the same. //Seeing that sort of thing happen to Galvatron… Oh, that image was priceless!// "That was hilarious, I don't think Lord Galvatron will be able to walk right ever again," Seahawk's laughter died. He then sighed and leaned against the wall facing Zephyr, suddenly feeling a great cold rush over his mechanical body which made him shiver. She was still cold too. "Maybe.… maybe you'd better take this back. I… don't know how to use it anyway." Seahawk scooted towards the bars, took the device from her and pushed a button. "No, I have more metal and circuits to keep me functioning fine, you on the other hand have thinner metal as per your design. Open up your chest plate," he said, putting his hand with the device through the bars. Uncertain about baring her spark chamber before a stranger, she hesitantly complied. He gently placed the antifreeze gauge on a part of the chamber and pulled his hand back through the bars. //The warmth that flooded her was the most wonderful thing she'd ever felt.// After enduring so much cold, she was finally warm. It was like heaven to her and she spent a few seconds just savoring the feeling.

Megatron sighed as he felt a wave of warmth wash over him. She was warm now, which was good for the both of them; now he didn't have to worry about her freezing to death. 'Now,' he thought, looking around the base. _I need some willing volunteers to search for her, because I know she's not on this planet. _He smiled as he saw Fireblaze, Dust Devil, Stormchaser and Typhoon. "Men, I have a mission for you…"

"Thank you," she said to Seahawk, knowing that she really had no way to repay him for this. "No… p-problem," he said, smiling behind his mouth panel. "I don't think you deserve to freeze, I really think you've done nothing wrong," he said and shivered slightly, "But that's probably just my in-inner A-Autobot talking." She only had one thing to say to that. "If I ever get out of here, come with me…" Seahawk looked at her, shocked. "Why? I'm no good to anyone really, not now, I've been reprogrammed to be a Decepticon, I can't alter that," he said discouragingly. "So you'd be an Autobot who used to be a Decepticon. There are stranger things," she said encouragingly. "Yeah, but an Autobot who became a Decepticon and betrayed his kind," he said sadly. Looking around, she made sure no one else was listening. "The same could be said of me," she whispered. "I was once human. But I abandoned my world, left my people behind, and sacrificed my human life to restore the homeland of a species that brought us nothing but war and death. A lot of the people I once knew would call that betrayal as well… the worst kind." Seahawk gave a small smile. "I guess you're right," he said. Sometimes she missed being human…

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Some things, it seems, are truly universal… And could I get some friggin' reviews here? Tell me how I'm doing on this particular story!


	5. Pain and retribution

-1Here's some more.

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Galvatron had recovered from his little incident with his prisoner and decided to confront her. He made his way to the prison and found Seahawk sitting against a wall, watching Zephyr. The Decepticon leader smiled at seeing that, when he had said to watch the prisoner he must have meant it. He walked in. "Well, it seems that we have a little talking to do," he said, glaring at Zephyr.

A look of dismay took shape on her face. "…Oh, wonderful." Galvatron smiled, taking the keys from Seahawk, he opened the door and went inside, locking it behind him and throwing the keys back, which smacked the other Decepticon in the face. "Tell me, Zephyr, do you know the meaning of pain?" She just regarded him calmly. "Is it anything like dying? If so, I hate to disappoint you but _I've been there!_" He rolled his eyes. "Fine, ruin my fun. But you're still going to pay for earlier," he growled walking closer to her. She wasn't certain what to do. Even if she could take him she'd still be stuck in there… Galvatron reached out and grabbed her neck, squeezing slightly. "Now," he wondered, mostly to himself. "What should I do with you?"

A thought took shape in her mind. 'Hold your ground until the last possible moment…' Taking a cue from a movie she'd seen once back when she had still been Sarah, she didn't so much as move… then she extended her whip and aimed for his face at point blank range. The whip connected and he yelled in pain, bringing a hand up to cover the wound. He growled and brought out his cannon, ready to blow her to pieces. Natural instinct overwhelmed all else, even the knowledge that she had her power, and she did what any normal person, human or not, would do in that situation… she froze like a deer in headlights. Galvatron glared at her, but also had a wicked smile on his face. "Revenge," he growled lowly and fired his cannon directly into her chest. The impact laid her out on her back before she even knew what hit her. //She remembered the last time she'd been shot like this… Starscream had done it.// Ratchet had been there for her then, he had saved her. //'Who will save me now?'// she wondered as she stared at the ceiling.

Megatron felt a great pain in his chest as he flew onward, with his reinforcements behind him, Zephyr's memories running through his mind and her helpless wonderment of who would save her. //Zephyr, where are you?// he asked himself, not knowing that it went through the connection. She gasped weakly, stirring slightly where she lay. "…Megatron? Is… is that…" Seahawk had to wonder if she'd gone mad, or if she was dying. Galvatron had long since left with a satisfied smile on his face. Seahawk opened the prison door and went to Zephyr's side. "Zephyr, are you all right, Zephyr?" She could barely focus on him, his words a vague hum, his concerned face blurring. "Where am I? This planet…" Seahawk was slightly confused. "Nucryonis," he said simply. //The word echoed in her mind, along with random thoughts about what Galvatron had said about the place. 'Down here… He said down here. Must mean… underground. Nucryonis… underground.'// Megatron smiled to himself. //'I'm coming, Zephyr,'// he said. "Let's go, men, we have to find Nucryonis, she's underground somewhere," he told them. Slightly confused at how he found out, they shrugged and followed him.

She abruptly smiled feebly, staring at nothing. Seahawk looked at her wound and put his hand over it. "Are you all right, Zephyr?" It was so hard to breathe… "I… I d-don't… think so…" Seahawk picked her up and laid her in his arms. "What do you need, I'll get it," he told her, trying to keep her breathing and awake. //The pain was starting to fade away.// Part of her realized that this was actually a bad thing because it meant she was close to death. 'My power…. The cold… doesn't touch me.' Seahawk gave her a confused look. "Come on Zephyr, stay with me, you're going to be all right," he tried to comfort her. "Hang in there…" She struggled to focus, to use her power on herself. 'Focus, Zephyr… focus…' It felt like she was falling into herself, leaving everything behind. 'This is it… I'm dying.' Indeed, that was what it felt like…

Seahawk began to worry for his, well he did not know what to call her, but the closest thing he could think of, was friend. He tapped her cheek gently with his hand. "Zephyr?" She was struggling, trying so hard to concentrate. All she could do was pray in her mind. 'God… heck, _any_ god will do! Help me focus, I know I can do this if I can… just…' Seahawk watched as a bright light came from Zephyr's deep wound and covered his eyes so as not to be blinded. Yes, it was coming, the pain was easing… //Light! That glorious light, a reprieve… This wasn't the end; not today. Today she would live.//

Megatron felt a great relief and joy. "She's all right," he whispered to himself. "She's all right!" he exclaimed and zoomed off farther into the deep black void of space, once again confusing his comrades, who strained quite a bit to keep up.

The worst of the damage was gone. What remained was largely superficial. Seahawk looked at her wound. "You're… you're healed," he said, shocked. She smiled. "This is… who I am." It only then hit him. _"_…_You're the All Spark!" _A slight nod was all she could give. The whole incident had taken a lot out of her. He laid her against him in a way that was more comfortable for her. "Rest," he murmured. Closing her eyes, she could almost pretend that she was lying in Megatron's arms, back home and safe, not trapped in this frigid nightmare. Seahawk sighed and looked down at the tired and weak Zephyr, glad that she was going to be all right. He just hoped that he could somehow get her out of there. She dreamed of being in his arms, of his presence, of just him being there in general. Though it was no more than a dream, for these few short hours she was at peace.

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It's all downhill from here, folks. I give you about two chapters before you see exactly WHY this is rated M.


	6. Hell hath no fury

-1Say hello to the last G-rated chapter you're going to get for a while.

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There came the squeaking of a door slowly opening. Seahawk bolted up, feeling bad that he had to drop Zephyr, quickly ran out of the cell and pretended to be recharging in front of the cell. Galvatron walked in, looking at his minion sleeping on the job. He grumbled but dismissed it, then looked at the sprawled out Zephyr and smiled, entering the cell with ease. She sighed to herself, peaceful and quiet as could be, a small smile on her face as pleasant dreams flitted through her mind. The blue Decepticon's smile turned wicked as he crouched down over her, looking at her smile. "Zephyr," he whispered, trying to sound like his father, which wasn't all that hard. Yawning, she opened one eye sleepily, her mind only halfway there. Her thoughts came slowly, so it took a few seconds for the difference in coloration to register. He smiled wickedly and before she had a chance to know what was going on, he stole a kiss from her. That brought her round. Snarling like an angry tigress, she reached out to slap him. _How dare he!_Galvatron held a hand to his cheek and stood up, a sly smile on his face. "You… you…" Words just weren't coming, she was too angry for that as she struggled to stand. His sly smile grew as he watched her stumble. //She hadn't been this angry for a long time, nor had she ever felt this much hate.// Thoroughly disgusted by him, she spat a couple times. Galvatron only became amused and laughed wholeheartedly. Megatron, on the other hand, glared in his warplane mode, wondering why she was angry, someone must have pissed her off. The laughter only served to anger her further. //Galvatron was going to pay for this.// Extending her whip, she completely ignored the fact that she was still fairly weak and tried to clobber him anyway. Galvatron's laughter turned into a gasp as he was taken off guard by her whip and felt it slap at him. Megatron growled and forced himself to fly towards a blue planet. "Galvatron," he growled angrily.

Not backing down, she lashed out at him again. Galvatron yelled and fell on his backside, trying to block the whip. "Seahawk, get in here and restrain her!" he roared, awakening the other Decepticon from his fake sleep. Seahawk stood and went into the cell, hesitating, not knowing what to do. Anyone not in the know would have easily assumed that he was a little bit leery of approaching her, as her whip was literally flying as she tried her hardest to beat the absolute heck out of Galvatron. //She could swear to never having seen anything so satisfying as his energon spilling on the floor…//

Megatron seemed to smile at her thoughts, but shook himself out of that as he approached into the frozen atmosphere. "Megatron! We can't land, it's too cold for us," yelled Dust Devil. "You can stay behind if you want, but I'm getting Zephyr," he yelled back and dived into the cold.

Galvatron was screaming in pain, many cuts upon his metal body from her whip. "Seahawk, you moron, _stop her!_" Seahawk looked at Zephyr and walked over to her, wrapping his arms around her, stopping her whipping. She struggled in his arms, growling and snarling wordlessly, eyes blazing with the blackest hatred imaginable. She wanted to do more, to hurt him further…

Megatron entered the atmosphere and instantly felt himself start to cool rapidly. "Stupid planet," he growled and went back up to meet his comrades. "All right, maybe I underestimated this planet, we need to find a way to counteract the cold." It killed him inside to know that he was leaving Zephyr, going away from where she was, but there was nothing he could do. "I'll come back, Zephyr," he said to himself. "I promise."

Zephyr's struggling eased off as she wore herself out. Soon she merely stood in Seahawk's grasp. Galvatron smiled, then grimaced at the pain the wounds caused. He walked over to her and punched her in the face. "How dare you, I don't know how you got your power back, but I know it doesn't last long," he growled and walked out of the cell. "Seahawk, chain her to the wall, that's an order," he tossed over his shoulder before leaving. Looking to Seahawk, she just let him chain her up. He was all right. She could trust him. "I'm sorry, Zephyr," he said with a bow. "It's all right…" She smiled up at Seahawk. "No, really, it is. It's all right. This situation was none of your doing, and it was also totally worth it to get him like that." Seahawk smiled and nodded. "Just tell me if you need anything," he said and went to walk out of the cell. Just sort of reclining in the chains as much as they would allow, she quietly replayed her memories of beating the crud out of Galvatron, a wicked smile taking shape. She had a feeling she'd savor those memories for a long time.

Megatron landed on a runway and transformed. He was greeted by Optimus, who glared at him. "What in the…" he started but was cut off by Megatron grabbing him. "We have to find or make something that will allow us to be in severe cold," he said frantically, shaking Optimus. The Autobot had only one thing to say. "Where did _this_ come from? Did I miss something?" Megatron spoke in a rush. "Zephyr, she's on an extremely cold planet, underground, we have to save her," he pressed, shaking his brother again. Optimus just looked at him. "Is she really in _that_ much danger?" Megatron narrowed his eyes, as if to say 'don't ask that, you know it's obvious'. Only one question came to the Autobot leader. "…What have they done to her?" Megatron told him everything he knew. "They've chained her up, I'm pretty sure at some point beat her badly, she was freezing but somehow got warm, and she was full of anger the last I felt the connection." _Typical Decepticons,_ Optimus thought. "We'll get her back, Megatron." He'd made his choice. It would be a full-scale rescue operation. "Tell me everything you know…" The silvery Decepticon proceeded to tell him everything, even all he felt. Hoping, _praying_ that his dear Zephyr would be all right for the time being…

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Galvatron begins to show his true colors…


	7. Galvatron is a perverted asshat

-1Here's where the M rating comes in.

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Dang, those chains were getting annoying… Zephyr squirmed for what seemed like the millionth time, trying to get at least somewhat comfortable. Seahawk heard the chains rattle again. "Do you want me to take those off?" She looked to him with a smile. "Wouldn't you get in trouble, though?" He stood up. "Not if I move quickly," he said with a smile behind his mouth panel. Getting up he walked into the cell and unchained Zephyr. "Better?" Rubbing her wrists, she smiled. "Much." Seahawk nodded, sat down against the cell bars and sighed, looking up at the ceiling.

Galvatron opened the door of the prison. Seahawk, at hearing the door, hustled over to Zephyr and chained her again and murmured a 'sorry', then went to sit outside the cell again, acting tired, with a forced yawn. "Primus, Seahawk, are you ever _not_ tired?" The blue Decepticon asked disgustedly as Seahawk yawned. Not one to miss any offered chance, she aimed a verbal jab. "Tired of _you? _Probably." He growled, his head snapping in Zephyr's direction, then made his way into the cell and got in her face. "I wouldn't be talking like that if I were you…" Just hanging in her chains, she smirked. "This coming from the guy who was squealing incoherently last time he was in here." Galvatron growled threateningly, placing a hand on the wall near her head. "You will regret that." She abruptly sneered at him. "What, giving you a really bad day? _Never!_" He simply gave a sly smile. "You're not going to win this time, Zephyr," he said, slowly tracing a finger down from her neck. "Because I have you chained to a wall, which means," he started, moving closer to her. "…_I_ have the upper hand," he purred, the hand from the wall moving down along her chest and down to reach her pelvic plates… and remove them. //She gasped, feeling absolute horror flood through her.// "You _wouldn't_…" He smiled. "I would," he growled seductively and kissed her, pressing his body against hers.

Megatron felt something, something terrifying, and a gasp… _her_ gasp. "No, he can't…" Optimus looked up at him from informing his troops about the mission. He leaned over to him. "What's wrong, Megatron?" His face showed both anger and horror. "He's going to _rape_ her!" he roared and burst out of the prep training room. //Disbelief… Disbelief and shock… 'This can't be happening, no, please, not this…' Terror and helplessness…// Assaulted by her feelings, he fell to the ground, feeling just as helpless as she was feeling. //"Zephyr! _No!_"//

Galvatron smiled as he rubbed his hand against where her pelvic plates had previously been, humming in pleasure as he did so. She was shaking, more from fear than anything else. "S-stop it… Don't… _Please_…" Galvatron smiled wickedly, his mouth moving to her neck, biting it, sending energon trickling from it. Seahawk stood by and watched, not knowing what to do, his mind wanted to help Zephyr, but his body wouldn't move. She pulled at her chains, trying to do something, _anything_ to stop him, but there was nothing she could do save whimper. All her defiance was gone. Galvatron smiled and kissed her deeply, pressing himself against her… Taking the offered opportunity, she bit him. He just growled, still smiling. "That doesn't hurt," he said slyly and pushed harder against her. "But _this_ will…" To her credit, she stayed silent. At least outwardly. //Inwardly she screamed to the heavens. 'Not this, not this… Help me, God… Help me…'//

Before Galvatron had a chance to do much of anything else, Seahawk tackled him and sent him to the floor. Seahawk quickly undid the chains and set Zephyr free. Galvatron stood up and glared at his fellow Decepticon. "What is the meaning of this, Seahawk?" The sea plane glared back and pointed his cannon at him. _"Don't you dare touch her again." _She trembled where she stood, standing by her savior, not daring to go for her discarded pelvic plates yet. Galvatron smirked. "Ah, it seems the bronze but no brains has fallen for the little prisoner," he chimed charmingly, finding Seahawk's supposed weakness. Seahawk glared at him. "Tell me, Seahawk, what is it about her that makes you want to act like this, makes you want to be an," he spat out the next word, "Autobot," he snarled like it was the most hideous thing to say. Seahawk had one answer. "Because she's not like _you,_" he said simply and blasted Galvatron. To his shock, it was just shaken off. His surprise froze him in place long enough for the Decepticon leader to return the favor. Thus ended the life of Seahawk, the Decepticon who had been an Autobot all along.

Galvatron approached Zephyr again and growled deep in his throat, now quite annoyed. She retreated, very frightened. Feeling her back come up against the wall, she shuddered. What could she do? Galvatron grabbed her by the neck. "You _will_ pay dearly for this," he said in a harsh whisper. Her whip… Maybe if she… It formed in her hand and she prepared to clobber him with everything she still had. He just laughed. "Not _this_ time," he proclaimed as he twisted her arm, making her whip retract involuntarily. A sharp gasp of pain escaped her at that. //Now she really _was_ defenseless.//

Megatron felt Zephyr's helplessness, knowing somehow her weapons were taken away or useless. Down in a crouch on the floor, shuddering as her fear flooded him, he cursed Galvatron for all of this. He could feel her terror, could practically _see_ the smirking face of his 'son'… This was a nightmare; the worst nightmare he could think of! He remembered the mountaintop so long ago, remembered it as if it were yesterday… Starscream's evil smirk, the laughter of the other two, and pain, so much pain…

Desperate, she tried to rake him with her claws as she had on her first day there. Galvatron growled and punched her, sending her to the ground. "I won't let you leave, not after what you did." She tried to get back up, but a powerful hand clamped down on her shoulder. "Oh no you don't," that sickeningly suave voice said. Abruptly she was thrust upon her back and pinned down, hard. Her spark promptly froze in her chest. "N-no," she begged one last time, their faces mere inches apart. _"Yes," _he growled back, voice fairly dripping with lust, before clamping his mouth over hers in a savage, brutal kiss that served to muffle her screams. Arms pinned, whip disabled, well and truly helpless since he was quite a bit stronger, all she could do was struggle futilely as he had his way with her.

When Optimus finally found Megatron, it looked as if the poor Decepticon was having a seizure, since he was just barely on hands and knees, his claws digging deep furrows into the floor as shudder after violent shudder ripped through him. His voice wavered as he gasped, mentally nowhere near all the way there, jaw set and growling pain-filled hate as he hissed feeble pleas to whatever god was listening and repeatedly swore death to Galvatron. Feeling utterly helpless, Optimus could only hold his stricken brother in his arms and try to comfort him as he suffered whatever tortures Zephyr was being put through. It hurt him. Seeing his brother in so much pain and being unable to do anything… But the worst was yet to come, he soon found, as Megatron gave a soft, whimpering gasp, his whole body stiffening and his back arching. Throwing his head back, he didn't scream so much as let out an utterly heartbreaking sob. A second later he went limp in his brother's arms, panting weakly and trembling like a frightened child. Optimus was put in mind of his earliest childhood as he held the thoroughly traumatized Decepticon to him. How many times had his brother done the same thing for him after he'd awakened from a nightmare? "Optimus…" He could barely recognize his brother's voice, feeble croaking hiss that it had become. "Optimus, h-he raped her. He _raped_ her…" That was all for a few minutes, but it was enough. Now it all made sense; the apparent seizure, his murmured words, the way the formerly heartless warlord was _clinging_ to him… "It's going to be all right, Megatron," he tried to reassure his brother. "We'll get her back." Receiving no response, he held his brother closer. His next words were growled. _"I swear it."_

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I warned you guys… Seriously.


	8. Near miss

-1The events of the previous chapter are as graphic as it's going to get.

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It seemed as if the whole planet erupted in activity after that. Megatron was rallying the troops like an overly concerned madman, but none of them cared because they would have been doing that anyway, even without him there. Each and every last one of them, right down to the lowliest ensign, was more than willing to fight and die if it was for Zephyr's sake. Instead of two co-rulers they now had three: the Prime, in charge of governing all, the Lord High Protector, who upheld justice and led the military in defense of the homeland, and the Lady Wellspring, who saw to the health of the world and all its inhabitants. It was thanks to her that they had their home world back, and by her grace their kind was beginning to repopulate and flourish as they had before the war. If any of them knew about the peculiar 'seizures' the Lord High Protector sometimes suffered during the preparatory period, they didn't speak a word of it. Rather, it motivated them to work harder because it was widely known that the two were connected somehow. No one had to tell them because they already knew what the 'seizures' meant… Their beloved Lady Wellspring was suffering. Ratchet was hard at work as well, first experimenting to find a way to counteract the cold, then seeing to the construction of personal devices for each soldier to wear. It took a while, but eventually the preparations were complete.

Megatron didn't have to say a word. It was as if the ranks of soldiers standing before him were all psychic, each and every one of them. They had begun to form up and prepare for departure before he could order them to do so. Transport ships were readied for launch as huge flocks of jets filled the skies until they outnumbered the stars. The Lord High Protector found himself deeply moved by all this. In all his years of tyranny as the leader of the Decepticons, none of those under his command had ever done this sort of thing. He'd always had to force them to obey. _Lesson learned, _he thought to himself. _It's easier to lead when they _want _to follow._ Overhead the jets still circled, growing impatience clear from the fact that they were starting to go a little faster. He cast a glance over the transports. Everyone was aboard and all the necessary cargo was safely stowed. For the first time since Zephyr's abduction, he smiled. _"Let's __**GO!**__" _That mighty roar was heard by all as their leader leapt straight upward, transformed and took to the air. Circling once, the other jets falling in line behind him, he barely paused to make sure that the transports were following before heading off. _"To Nucryonis!" _Thousands of voices echoed his cry as they all set off. The great cloud of jets arrayed behind him jockeyed for position for a few seconds before finally settling into dozens of V-formations, a technique Megatron had learned of during his time on Earth. Those trailing behind rode the slipstream of the leader. Every so often the leading jet would drop back to the end of the line and another would take the lead. The transports hung side by side in roughly the center of the swarm of jets, the soldiers within counting on their flight-capable brethren for protection in case of an attack. At the head of this great cloud there flew a single jet, and that jet was Megatron. _Hang in there, Zephyr_… His mind was filled with thoughts of her as they all flew onward. _Help is on the way. _And if he had his way, the nightmare would soon be over.

The flight seemed endless, the vast reaches of space even more vast than usual, and no amount of speed felt like enough. Even Megatron was starting get impatient. All of them, however, breathed a sigh of relief when the pale blue sphere that was Nucryonis came into view. Barely pausing upon arrival, the Autobots landed and disembarked without hesitation, troops exiting transports and jets transforming, all of them nearly slipping as they touched the ice. Since he had been the very first one down, Megatron had already scanned the area and found an entrance to something nearby. He walked over to a hole in the ice, which layered into snow, and glared at it. "I'm coming, Zephyr," he murmured to himself and descended into the hole, his troops following close behind.

At least he hadn't gotten his way with her again… That was all she could think as she crashed to the floor. Galvatron stomped over to her and laid his foot on her head. _"Say your prayers." _Suddenly a commotion rose up outside the prison, his men screaming, the sounds of guns firing. "What the…?" he started but was soon cut off as the prison door opened and a shot rang out. _"Zephyr!" _a low voice called. Incredulous joy flooded her. _"M-Megatron?!"_Her cry was heard. "Zephyr?" he called again and walked over to stand in front of the barred prison door. He glared at the sight of Galvatron. _"You," _he growled. "Hello, Father," the other Decepticon smiled. Off to the side, forgotten for the moment, she struggled to her feet again. "Looks to me like you're busted, mister."

Galvatron glared at her and slapped her hard, sending her into the wall and then to the floor. "_Be silent, _wench!" Megatron roared wordless rage at that and blasted a hole in the door, then stepped through, ready and more than willing to dismantle his creation. Spitting energon, Zephyr slowly got back up as Galvatron glared and aimed point blank at Megatron's face. "Don't come any closer, Father, or I'll shoot you," he growled. _"Aren't you forgetting something?!"_ Shouting those words, she tackled him full on. A blast was let off but it only hit the ceiling, causing bits to fall. Megatron aimed his own cannon at Galvatron. Ending up lying on top of him, eye to eye, she abruptly smirked. "_Now_ who's got the upper hand?" Galvatron glared at her, but smiled psychotically and grabbed her, using her body as a shield. "_I_ do," he hissed as he stood up, dragging her along with him. "You wouldn't dare shoot your girl, now, would you, 'Daddy'?" Pinned in place, his whip now round her neck and his cannon pressed firmly against her back, she just froze. Megatron snarled. "Let her go, _now!_" Galvatron's grin widened. "Why should I? Give me one good reason why I should," he growled, then smirked. "Better yet I'll make you a deal, 'Daddy'." Megatron narrowed his eyes. "…What kind of deal?" he asked cautiously. "My release, for your darling," Galvatron smiled as he dragged his tongue along her cheek. She shuddered in utter disgust, trying to recoil from his touch, only to cough as the whip pulled tighter. Megatron glared at his abomination then at Zephyr, what would he do, let this creation gone horribly wrong go in return for Zephyr, or let her be killed… there was no other choice. "All right, just let her go." Galvatron grinned at this. "Ah, Ah, Ah, not until I get transportation for myself and my men off this planet, and you must also promise that you will not follow us." Megatron just grumbled, "Fine." Zephyr shook her head. _"Don't listen to him, he's just--" _That frantic rush of words ended when the whip pulled tight, cutting off her air. Struggling, gasping and choking, trying to pull the whip away from her neck, she could just barely hear Megatron shouting frantically as everything began to go dark… "_Stop it! Stop! _You can have your ship; just stop hurting her!" She only realized that she had fallen to her knees when her captor yanked her to her feet.

Galvatron entered the Autobots' abandoned ship, as per orders. The Decepticons stood at the hatch, their leader having a wicked smile. "Give her back now, Galvatron!" The blue Decepticon only pressed a button and the door to the ship began to shut. _"No!" _Megatron yelled. The last thing he saw before the door shut was her expression of utter panic, and the last thing he heard was words spoken by Galvatron to her. "You belong to _me_ now…" Galvatron's wicked smile, Zephyr's horrified look of helplessness. Everything seemed to be going on a one-way rollercoaster to hell…

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Oh, so close…


	9. His pleasure, her pain

-1This chapter covers several months

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Aboard the departing ship, Zephyr was at a loss. She was alone in enemy territory now, heading away from any hope of rescue or help. Galvatron dragged her to a room of the ship and tossed her inside. "Have fun," he growled and shut the door on her, leaving her completely alone. Breaking down completely, she fell to the ground and wept.

Megatron paced in the conference room, wearing a long furrow into the floor. "I am such a fool, I should have known my creation better than that," he stopped and thought. "…No, I should have known _myself_ better than that," he corrected himself. //The only thing that came through the link was the sound of utterly heartbroken weeping.// Megatron slammed a fist into the wall at feeling her cry. This was all his fault, he could have prevented this another way, but instead he let himself be played and let his beloved be taken away by a mad idiot. //She didn't know where she was, but she supposed it didn't matter because she wouldn't be getting out of this one. This was it. It had to be. She wondered how long it would take her to die.// "Please stop thinking like that, Zephyr," he muttered to himself, but directed to her. //A sad smile was sent his way, as if to apologize for not being able to see any other way out.// Megatron, too, gave a sad smile. //"I'm sorry I got you into this mess, Zephyr, I am so sorry," he said, trying not to lose it completely.// Both tried to reassure the other that it wasn't their fault, that they had done everything they could. //There was a flicker of fear, along with an image of Galvatron entering, before she tried her hardest to force the link into a blackout.// This sensation disturbed Megatron greatly. What kind of horror was she anticipating? What could be bad enough to block from even him//"_No, _Zephyr!"// he cried out, but it was too late, the link had blacked out.

The next half hour was silent as she held the link closed, only the occasional flicker of pain, disgust and hate coming through. Megatron felt these and wondered what was happening to her. "Please let her be all right," he prayed, closing his eyes before turning around to meet Optimus. "Have you made contact with her at all?" That was the first question. "Yes, but very little," he said. "Any guess as to where they are now?" he asked. "No," Megatron replied. It was then that the link reopened… //Energon. A lake of it, a _sea_ of it, as far as she could see. She was lying face up on the floor, only the floor was gone, replaced by a seemingly endless sea of energon…// Megatron nearly felt his spark explode as he viewed this, and he let out a terrible scream. Optimus slapped his brother. _"What is wrong?" _Megatron started shaking. "He… He…" Anger rose up in him. _"I'll kill him!" _he roared. //She could hear someone chuckle, and then the sound of a door closing. She was alone again.// Megatron was about to lash out in anger when Optimus stopped him. "Calm down and tell me what happened, Megatron." And so he told him, and the next thing that came through the link, a chuckle, a door closing, and a feeling of loneliness.

That was how it began… what could only be described as a living hell. She resisted at first, blacked out the link when _he_ came to spare her love the agony she suffered. Galvatron smiled cruelly as he pushed her down onto a metal bed, still stained from the energon of last night, and the night before, and the night before, on and on and on… "Ready for more, my little bunny?" She growled weakly, her will beginning to break, offering halfhearted resistance not because she was afraid but because it was what she always did. He grinned at that and pounced on her. "I thought you wouldn't, but it's so much more fun when you fight back, because then I can break you all the more." Her immediate reaction was to try to make the link black out again, but this time she failed. Was it because she was too weak, or did she just not care anymore? Galvatron grabbed her chin roughly and kissed her harshly, beginning the process of claiming her as his once again. //Her spark was going numb, the ability to feel emotions sliding away, disappearing into the cold despair spreading through her.// This time she didn't really resist much. She was used to it, after all. //Megatron reached out to her, wishing he was there, wishing he could beat Galvatron until he was metal shavings upon the ground, wishing that she did not have to go through this.// Things went differently this time… at least for one of them. //This time the link remained unblocked, and everything poured through.// Optimus had to hold his brother up as Megatron felt the agony Zephyr suffered; the abuse, the rape, everything. She almost welcomed the pain, because that was all that was left. Nothing else remained in her, all emotions and ability to care long gone from her spark. Pain was all she could feel, and so she was almost all right with it. Once Galvatron was finished with her, he smiled and threw her up against the wall on the other side of the room, then laughed wickedly as he made his way to the door. "I'm glad you've become submissive, Zephyr; it seems I've broken you." He laughed again and exited. None of that mattered. //"I'm dead," she muttered to herself. "I'm dead, but my body is alive…"// Their pain mixed and mingled until neither of them was sure whose suffering was whose. //"Zephyr…"// Megatron whispered, but he got no response. She had fallen so far that she had passed beyond even his reach, it seemed. Even the voice of her love couldn't stir any feelings in her. What was he to do when the one he loved was suffering so horribly that she no longer cared or felt any emotion other than pain? He sobbed in his brother's arms as the coldness of despair, of utter hopelessness closed over her, and in so doing it closed over him too. //"I'll never escape. This is my life, now. This is my life…"// Megatron shook his head. //"That is not your life. I'm getting you out of there. I promise," he muttered.// Even that brought no hope, and that hurt him further. "We'll find Galvatron," Optimus tried to reassure him. "If not to rescue Zephyr, then to make him pay." Revenge wasn't the Autobot way, but he was almost willing to make an exception after all the pain and suffering the other Decepticon had caused his brother.

The whole planet was in mourning alongside the Lord High Protector. With her gone, it was as if their world had returned to those dark days when the All Spark had been lost. Their new Golden Age was fading fast. The Lady Wellspring was the life force of the planet itself, and only in her presence could new lives come into being. As she suffered, so did the planet she'd sacrificed so much for. The same went for the people. Her connection to their world meant that her suffering was laid bare for all to see, if they only knew what to look for and where to look. Buildings that had previously looked new began to age, edifices crumbled, things broke down, luster dulled, paint faded… The previously vibrant colors of their world dimmed to a lifeless gray that seemed just shy of death. The military as a whole was trying in vain to hunt down the renegades, focusing all their resources on getting her back for the sake of their ailing world. Civilians merely offered up prayers, both for her safe return and for the sake of their suffering Lord High Protector…

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One can only hope they'll find her soon, you know?


	10. Rebirth of hope

-1That's it for the M rating. From here on in, it shouldn't be nearly that bad.

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All activity stopped in the command center as the alarms went off. "Commander Downshift! We've got a massive intrusion into planetary airspace! The proximity alarms are going crazy!" The commanding officer, Downshift, stepped forward. "See if you can get a visual reading on it, Ensign." A huge screen set into one of the walls lit up, displaying a sweeping panorama of outer space and the ragtag cluster of transport ships that now simply hung there, surrounded on all sides by a fair-sized swarm of jets. _"By the All Spark!" _It wasn't clear who said that as every soldier in the room, regardless of what they were doing at the moment, literally dropped everything and stared at the screen like a pack of utter morons. "It's… _the Decepticon Armada?!_" That got Downshift moving. "Notify the Lord High Protector, sound the alarm and muster everyone you can find to prepare the defenses! I don't care if it's a janitor or Optimus Prime himself, _get them out there!_" A powerful voice cut through the sudden bustle. "You don't have to notify me of anything. I already know." Silence abruptly fell as none other than Megatron himself strode in. Staring up at the screen, he noticed several things. "That fleet isn't even half the size of the one I commanded… Where are the rest of them?" Something about the ships and jets themselves then caught his eye. "The transports are badly damaged. And those jets look half past dead! But… what would bring them _here?_" Just then, the screen flickered, replacing the panorama with a familiar face… _"Galvatron," _Megatron snarled.

"Hello… Father," he grinned. "I'll bet you never thought you'd be seeing _me_ again…" Megatron growled. "I really wish I didn't have to, especially after what you did to Zephyr." A long silence passed between them, during which both sides glared. "I'm hurt, Father," Galvatron pretended to be sad. "But that's not why I'm here. By now, I'm sure you've noticed the fact that an apparent rogue planet entered the Shining Blue star cluster roughly seven stellar cycles ago." Megatron crossed his arms over his chest. "I have," he said smugly. And indeed he had. He just hadn't been able to bring himself to care about it. The blue twin looked a little miffed, as if the idea he was considering putting forth disgusted him greatly. "That… is Unicron. He destroyed our main base, and by that I mean the whole planet. Nothing my soldiers or I tried so much as _scratched_ him. Half the fleet didn't even make it out of there. We're what's left, and now we know it's going to take a _lot_ more than just us to stop this thing." There was a pause. "…And what are you suggesting?" Megatron asked. "An alliance," Galvatron said, sounding as if that was the last thing he wanted but he knew he had to. For the first time in forever, Megatron smiled. "And why should I help you?" he asked, folding his arms. "You betrayed me, you hurt, raped, and broke my dear Zephyr's spirits and everything she had, so why in the name of the Pit would I help you?" Galvatron's eyes flashed. "Because I'm willing to make certain… sacrifices," he said, that mad grin returning. "She's still alive," he added. "As a show of goodwill, I will give her back to you." The silver Decepticon had only one thing to say to that. "Show me to her first." Galvatron nodded. "Come to my flagship. Bring your brother if you must." Megatron looked over at Optimus who was standing off to the side and nodded for him to follow. The Autobot complied and followed his brother onto Galvatron's ship. The link came to life again, for a moment. //A sudden lash of pain across his right wrist, followed quickly by the same on his left.// The silver Decepticon looked at his wrists as they came to a door, which Galvatron opened.

Megatron turned and looked to find energon bleeding from Zephyr's wrists. _"Zephyr!" _he screamed in horror. The room itself was like a scene from an extraordinarily gruesome horror movie. Layer after layer of splattered energon decorated the walls and floor, ranging from old enough to have completely dried and begun to flake away to recent enough so as to still be warm. In the middle of this sat a fairly mangled, energon-encrusted wreck that was barely recognizable as a living being, let alone Zephyr. She stared down at the energon spurting from both wrists with a sort of clinical detachment, as if this threat to her life were merely a curiosity. Hearing the door open and her name called, she slowly turned to stare uncaringly through them with dim, soulless eyes. Megatron ran over to Zephyr and grabbed her wrists, putting pressure on them in an effort to at least slow the bleeding. He then turned to Optimus. "Get Ratchet _now!_" The Autobot was already doing just that. "_I_ had nothing to do with this," Galvatron said defensively, raising his hands. Megatron turned to him and glared. "This is every bit your fault." For the first time since their entry, Zephyr seemed to become aware that there were others in the room with her… she tried to pull away from Megatron, to let her wounds bleed out. However, he held tight. "Zephyr, let me help you," he whispered. //She'd finally lost it; her mind was playing tricks on her. It wasn't him. It couldn't be him.// He felt this, tried to coax her back from the darkness she had fallen into. //"Zephyr, it _is_ me," he told her. "It _is_ me."// A ripple passed through the black despair filling her. Emotions she had thought long dead were stirring sleepily. //"Zephyr, It's me, Megatron."// He touched her face gently. //"I'm here for you now, you're safe, I won't let him hurt you anymore."// Her struggles to pull away ceased. She looked up at him again, a faint flicker of life showing through those blank, soulless eyes. Megatron looked at her, taking her wrists again, keeping the pressure up so they didn't bleed so badly and looked into her eyes. He leaned up slowly and kissed her. Her first instinct, gained through many months of pure hell, was to pull away. //Pain coming. Violation. Not again… Wait, she cared?// Megatron softened the kiss, and wrapped his arms around her battered and dented body. //"I love you, Zephyr, please, come back to me."// It wasn't clear just why she yielded to him. Perhaps she had remembered him… perhaps she was merely surrendering to what she believed would be yet another rape. Megatron sighed as Ratchet entered pretty much in a dead run. He quickly tended to her slit wrists, which were cauterized and mended, the energon flow decreasing. Something inside her stirred more strongly. //Wait… This was different. Not like before, where the pain lasted forever.//

Ratchet nodded at his work and turned to Megatron. "She'll be fine now." He gave a small smile. "I'll send you the bill," he said and walked off, Optimus nodded to him, thanking him for his services. For the first time in what seemed like forever, she was actually _feeling_. //Pain taken away… Familiar faces. Not a dream?// Megatron smiled slightly, knowing that Zephyr was finally coming around. He put a hand to her head and gently caressed her cheek. This time, she didn't recoil from his touch. //This wasn't like before. He was gentle, so gentle… Dared she hope? After so long… Could it really be?// Hope surged within him. He was starting to get through to her. //"Yes, Zephyr. It really is."//

A soft, weak little voice, rough from disuse, broke the silence with a hesitant quaver. "…M…Megatron?" The blank expression on her battered face disappeared, life flickering more strongly in those formerly soulless eyes as realization dawned. "Yes, Zephyr," Megatron almost grinned with glee. Falling into his arms, she just clung to him and shook like a little leaf. //The darkness that had filled her broke like the last scraps of night before the dawn, baring her spark… but what should have blazed with a brilliant blue fire now merely glowed with a faint little light. She was free, she was back with him, but she would in all likelihood never be the same. Galvatron had broken her utterly, and no medic could ever repair that.// Megatron sighed sadly, but he was also happy that she was back with him. He held her close and tight, soon lifting her into his arms and carrying her off the ship. He knew she was too weak to walk, but even if she hadn't been he would have carried her anyway. "What about our alliance, Father?" Galvatron asked, still fairly disgusted by the idea. Megatron turned. "We will fight Unicron," was his only reply as he walked off and disappeared from his son's sight, Zephyr's battered body held tight in his arms. It took a while for her to recognize the emotion that filled her, since it seemed like forever since she'd last felt anything at all, much less what she was currently feeling. //For the first time in entirely too long, Zephyr was happy.// Megatron smiled down at her, nestled in his arms. "I'm glad you're happy." The smile on her face felt alien to her. She was surprised she even remembered how to smile. Megatron entered his quarters and laid Zephyr gently on the bed, not caring if the caked-on dried energon got on it. He sat on the edge of the bed and watched her. Now that he had her back, he didn't want to leave her side for anything. She drifted off to sleep without a word, broadcasting vague contentment. //The nightmare was over. No more violations. No more torment. No more… anything. At long last, it had ended. Warm and safe, her dreams, for the first time in a long time, were peaceful.//

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Here begins the road to recovery. Unicron isn't in much of a hurry. In his mind, they're all screwed either way, so why rush? After all, it's much more fun to let them squirm a while.


	11. Almost dead inside

-1I switched this to a T rating hoping that the vagueness is enough to dodge the M. Maybe now more people will read this.

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Megatron sighed as he watched over her. He would get Ratchet to take a look at her once she was done recharging, and possibly get her cleaned up as well. Smiling, he placed a hand on her cheek and stroked it gently. Her nightmares were finally over. "At last," he muttered. A sigh escaped her at his touch. As she slept, the energon coating her began to flake away slightly, making the bed dirty, but not under her back. Rather than being covered with dried flakes, it almost appeared wet. It could have been an illusion that it was wet; it could have been an illusion how the stain was slowly spreading… Megatron paused, curious, and looked at the spreading energon. Standing, he looked at it from a wider angle and gasped. _"Ratchet!" _he called. It was only then that he realized that her breathing had been changing the whole time… growing slower, shallower, _weaker_… Ratchet rushed into the room and skidded to a stop at the sight. "By the All Spark," he whispered, covering his mouth as he watched the energon spill over the bed. He quickly rolled her over and found the deep gashes in her back. "That little…" The gashes were very recent, leading to only one conclusion… Galvatron's last 'session' with her had been _right_ before contacting Megatron.

The silver Decepticon glared at nothing in particular as he thought of this, watching as Ratchet did his best to stop the bleeding and repair the gashes in her metal back. She woke up slightly, but only slightly. Her eyes opened a bit, but not a whisper escaped her, nor did she flinch at what should have been painful. Ratchet sighed and shook his head. "You've been through the Pits and back, haven't you, Zephyr?" he asked, not really expecting her to respond. Once again, she said nothing. They had a feeling it would be a long, long time before she said anything. Ratchet stood, looked at Megatron and nodded. "I'll be near if you need me again, but she should be fine for now," he told him and walked out of the room. Megatron nodded after him and looked down at the now mended Zephyr. Only half awake and feeling very cold, she tried to curl up around herself but failed because she was too weak to. Failing that, she just shivered feebly. Megatron walked around the bed and sat on the edge of it, wrapping his arms around her frail and weak body, hoping that the warmth coming from his metal body would suffice. //The fear she should have felt died before it could even be born inside her. Yes, this was familiar, this was… _right_ somehow.// Megatron smiled and nuzzled her slightly. "Sleep, Zephyr." A small smile drifted across her face before sleep seized her once again. He smiled as well and let her sleep in his arms. The rest of the night was peaceful.

Megatron opened his eyes and found Zephyr still sleeping in his arms. He smiled and gently wiggled away. She didn't really seem to notice, sleeping quietly. Walking out of the room and down the hall, he nearly ran in his brother Optimus. "Oh, Megatron, I was just heading to see how Zephyr was doing, is she all right?" he asked. "She's recovering slowly, but, as we hope, surely. She's extremely weak. We had a scare last night," he explained. "Yes, Ratchet told me," Optimus nodded. It was then that she awakened. The comforting presence she'd felt throughout the night wasn't there. Trying to at least sit up, she forced herself up off the bed, only to suffer a dizzy spell and fall back down for a few seconds as everything spun around her. Megatron and Optimus walked back down to the room Zephyr was in and opened the door, both finding the poor girl sprawled out on the bed. Optimus just sort of stared. "Is she all right?" Reacting to his voice, she tried again to at least sit up, barely weathering the resulting dizzy spell this time around and somehow managing to not fall back down. Megatron walked over to her and placed a hand on her shoulder. //"Are you all right?"// She smiled, wavering dizzily. //Dizziness leaked across the link. It surprised her how weak she was, and it occurred to her that she probably looked as awful as she felt.// Megatron smiled and patted her head gently. "She's just dizzy, I couldn't blame her." Optimus nodded and knelt next to Megatron, looking at the dizzily swaying Zephyr. She looked back at him, uncertain. //Attention was bad… It was better not to be noticed, not to make a sound… Pray they wouldn't see her… Pray _he_ wouldn't see her…// Megatron shook his head. "No, Zephyr, This is Optimus Prime, he's not going to hurt you, he's one of us," he tried to explain. She looked apologetic. It was so hard to unlearn what months of pain had taught her… Megatron only nodded. "It's all right." He then looked at Optimus. "She must have been extremely traumatized, it seems like she forced herself to forget literally _everything,_" he told his brother. "That's something I'd expect Ratchet to say, but I guess we will just have to work with her until she gets stronger and learns to trust us again," he said. Megatron nodded.

She abruptly turned away, trying to hide herself and her shame from them. Deep down she was still in agony, not physical but mental and emotional pain. She had been tainted… Her purity taken away. Damaged goods; that was what she was now. And yet he still loved her… How? How could he love someone who had been defiled as she had been? How could he love a broken spark? Megatron turned his attention back to Zephyr, seeing her quick head movement. He reached out a hand and put it on her shoulder, smiling slightly. "We're going to make everything all right, Zephyr." She flinched away as she had when they had first been reunited, but this time it was out of shame, not fear. Megatron frowned slightly. "What's the matter?" She couldn't meet his gaze, so she just looked at the floor as she tried to clamp down on the rising tide of newly-liberated emotions she felt inside. He retracted his hand and looked to his brother. "I don't know what is wrong," he told him. "I don't either, maybe she needs some alone time?" Optimus wondered. Megatron shook his head. "I can't leave her… Not when she's like this." It was then that she let go, and he got his first glimpse into the chaos in her mind. It wasn't words, but it might as well have been. //Tainted. Impure. Defiled. Ugly, a broken toy, a madman's discarded plaything. His little bunny. He had called her his little bunny. A toy, a _pet, _that was all she had been, what he had made her into. …How? How could he still love her after all this? After all the horror… all the pain…// Megatron quickly looked at Zephyr after seeing inside her mind and, not caring if she struggled, wrapped his arms around her. "There are many reasons why I do, Zephyr." Optimus looked at the two, and, feeling like a fifth wheel, he nodded and walked out of the room. She tried to resist at first, but only at first. //It hurt so much… Remembering it all… So many months of loneliness and pure hell… She was alive, but she felt as though she shouldn't be.// Megatron put his forehead against hers. "Zephyr, I'm glad you're alive, I'm sorry you've gone through hell, I'm sorry you're in pain, but know that I still love you." Losing it completely, she broke down and wept in his arms, still not letting out so much as a whimper.

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The physical damage ain't the half of it.


	12. What can be fixed

-1

It had been about a week, and she's gained back a little of her strength. Alone for the moment, she decided she'd had it with staying in that room. It took all her strength, but she managed to stand up, leaning heavily on the bed. Resting a moment, she looked at the door and tried to stand on her own, at least long enough to reach it. After practically falling on her face, she managed to get to the door. Now leaning against the wall to support herself, she opened the door and slowly made her way out, sticking close to the wall all the while. Megatron rounded the corner, a tray of energon in his hand. He found that familiar form wobbling down the hallway, leaning heavily on the wall. "…Zephyr?" he wondered, setting the tray down on the ground and walked over to her. "What are you doing out of bed?" Suddenly there were thundering footsteps coming down the hall. Megatron looked behind Zephyr and glared. She turned and saw _him_ there. Galvatron. Ignoring his father for the moment in favor of meeting her gaze, he smiled. //The sight of that smile, the way he had always looked at her as he hurt her over and over, filled her with fear.// Megatron shivered slightly from Zephyr's link and shook it off. "What brings you here, Galvatron?" The blue Decepticon continued to look at her. "Oh, I just wanted to discuss possible defense strategies with you." His smile grew. "How's your little bunny?" She recoiled as if he had struck her. Megatron wrapped his arms around her and held her to him. "_She's not a bunny, you ass. _Now if you want to discuss defense strategies, you will go to Prime, not me." Galvatron's smile never dimmed. "I'll see you later, then," he said, once again looking at her as he said that, as if directing that statement toward her and not his father. Turning, he walked off. Megatron watched his evil creation disappear and patted Zephyr's back. "It's all right, he's gone now." She shivered in his arms like a cold kitten, watching him leave. Megatron sighed and picked up the shivering Zephyr into his arms then grabbed the tray of energon. "Why did you get out of your room?" She just snuggled up a little closer, looking up at him and smiling. She'd been bored before, bored and a little lonely. Megatron smiled down at her and led her back into the room, laying her on the now clean bed. He set the tray down for her and nodded. "Go on and eat, we need to build up your strength." She complied, happy that he was there. She wasn't sure why she was afraid of everyone other than him. Her fear of Galvatron was understandable, but… Had she become so used to living in constant terror that fright had become her reflexive response to everyone save for Megatron?

The Decepticon in question sat down on the edge of the bed and watched her eat happily. He was really hoping that somehow she would warm up to the other Autobots, at least Optimus, he was his brother after all; and Ratchet had helped her by fixing her injuries and keeping watch over her. He sighed and yawned. He was quite tired, it had been a while since he slept, he was always keeping watchful eyes upon his beloved Zephyr. It was barely a whisper, not quite out loud and not quite along the link, but for the first time in what seemed like forever, she actually _spoke. _"Broken. Inside. I am."

Megatron was startled by this. "Broken?" She smiled sweetly. Her voice had sounded strange even to herself. He put his hand on her shoulder. "Zephyr," he whispered, then scooted the tray towards her. "Eat," he told her gently, standing up. "I will be back. Please stay here," he said and walked out of the room. Not a sound escaped her as she watched him leaving. Megatron strolled down the hallways entering the repair bay, looking around for Ratchet. "Ratchet!" he called, like he did most of the time when trying to get the medic's attention. The white Autobot came out from behind a tool cabinet. "Can't you be more quiet? I mean, this is a repair bay, after all…" he said and pushed himself on the wall and was sent rolling over to Megatron in his mobile chair.

It had taken so much effort to find those words in her mind, and even more to say them… She could understand what Megatron said to her because of the link, but why couldn't she understand anyone else? Why couldn't she talk?

"…Say what?" asked Ratchet, who had been listening to Megatron's story and pretty much jumped out of his mobile chair. "She spoke?" he asked. "That's what I just told you, and she said 'Broken. Inside. I am.' So I want you to see what's wrong," Megatron told the medical officer. Ratchet nodded and followed the Decepticon's lead out of the repair bay.

So many familiar faces… Why couldn't she remember why she knew them? Her only clear memories were of belonging to Galvatron… everything else was a blur, save for the fact that she knew Megatron. The subject of her thoughts entered the room, Ratchet in tow. Turning to look at them, she just smiled shyly. The white one… She knew him too. Why couldn't she remember? She _knew_ she'd had a life before Galvatron took her…

Ratchet smiled at Zephyr and walked over to kneel in front of her ."Hello, Zephyr," he chimed. She looked at him quizzically. He'd spoken her name; that much she knew… "How are you doing today?" he asked as he scanned her body, not finding anything wrong with her. He hummed in puzzlement. She looked at him in complete bafflement, not understanding a single word he'd said. Ratchet put a finger up and poked Zephyr's arm. She didn't understand what he was doing, but she didn't have the words to ask him. She'd known once, been able to communicate… Where had it gone? Ratchet sighed in frustration. "She's recovering nicely, from what I can see. She seems to be perfectly fine," Ratchet told Megatron over his shoulder. The words she'd said before… She'd understood them then, used them to tell Megatron that there was a problem. Struggling, she fought to speak them again. "Broken. Inside. I am." This time the strained words were accompanied by her pointing to her head. Ratchet looked at her, puzzled, and scanned her head. "Oh no… _Brain damage_…" It was known that major trauma could make the mind turn on itself like an animal gnawing off a limb to escape a trap. This was only heightened by the power she possessed… Her vocal center had all but been cut free from everything else, and a great deal of her long-term memory storage was just plain blocked off. Her voice synthesizer was all but deactivated, and her personality matrix had all but rewritten itself.

Ratchet stood and walked over to Megatron. "I'm going to have to work on her, there's a lot of damage that needs to be fixed." It would take a lot of work to restore her… if she could be restored at all. Megatron nodded and walked over to Zephyr. "Zephyr, this is Ratchet," he said as he pointed to the white Autobot. "He's going to help you." She smiled in response. _Him_ she could understand.

Megatron took her hand and led her to the repair bay with Ratchet. She followed silently. The white Autobot walked over to a hospital bed and grabbed a few things. "Sit," he said. Megatron helped Zephyr over and sat her down. She looked around, confused by her new surroundings. What was this place? Megatron had said the white one was going to help… But how? Ratchet sedated her and got to work, trying his hardest to repair the damage.

Megatron waited outside the repair bay, pacing madly up and down, making onlookers curious until a certain Autobot leader came into view. "Megatron?" The Decepticon turned, putting a finger to his lips and shushed Optimus. …It was done. The repairs were complete. Hopefully she would be all right. Repairs could only do so much when the mind was involved, after all… Slowly starting to come around, she let out a soft moan; not just a sigh but an actual vocal sound. Ratchet leaned over her. "How are you feeling?" This time his words made sense, and that filled her with joy. Still she wasn't all the way there yet. "…R…Ra…Rat…chet…" The medic almost yelled for joy at this, but smiled. "Stay here," he told her and ran out the door to tell Megatron the good news. She could have shouted in joy, but she lacked the strength to do that, and the sedatives weren't helping anything, even though they were wearing off. Ratchet smiled. "She's awake." Megatron looked at him. "Was it a success?" Ratchet nodded. Megatron quickly bolted into the repair bay to see Zephyr. Seeing him, she smiled. "…H…hello… th…there…" Megatron nearly cried at hearing her sweet voice again, but instead he hugged her. "I am so glad you're all right…" She just smiled wider and returned the hug as best she could."…S…sorry… I… worried… you…" Megatron nodded. "It's all right, I'm just glad you're better now." It was all back. All of it. Her memories, her ability to talk, her ability to understand speech…

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Could I get some reviews here?


	13. Okay, now he's just a jerk

-1Just because there's an alliance doesn't mean he's done with her.

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Over a few weeks time Megatron had kept an eye on Zephyr, making sure she was kept out of harm's way and showed her around, reacquainting her with her repaired planet. She regained her strength slowly but surely and all seemed well… She was quite content with herself, even though Megatron was off doing something she didn't know about. After all, she was starting to feel at home again. Walking down the hallway, she felt downright safe. Suddenly the purple and teal horror from her darkest hour wandered around the end of the hall and spotted her, smiling wickedly as he did so. All pleasant feelings left her mind as she felt her spark fall to the floor. All thoughts fled in favor of starkest terror. 'No,' she thought. 'Not him again… No… _No_…' Galvatron began to walk slowly, casually, almost seductively towards the shaking Zephyr, knowing full well that he was torturing her with his mere presence and even more so with his proximity. She recoiled from him, nightmarish memories stampeding through her mind. "Well, hello there," he smirked. "Zephyr." It was all she could do to talk at all, much less say anything remotely coherent. "…D-don't," she managed. "Don't come any closer…" He just grinned. "Oh, but why?" he took a step closer. "We're allies now." His step forward elicited a step backward. "S-stay away from me…" She backed away, trying to keep at least a little of her composure. He smiled and leaned in a little closer, making his frightened victim run into the wall.

Suddenly Megatron walked around the corner with Optimus and his men, a scorpion, a little red Autobot, and a metal cat following. Galvatron looked back at Zephyr and smiled. "As you wish…" and pulled away. She shivered, frozen like a deer in the headlights of an oncoming truck. Megatron's commanding voice came. _"What were you doing?" _Galvatron shrugged. "Nothing, just saying hello to your dear Zephyr, seeing as she is well now." Her only response to that statement was to slowly try to edge away from him. Rumble and the little menagerie of small Autobots came up beside Zephyr and tackled her. "M-mommy!" Rumble squealed. _"Rumble!" _She caught him in her arms and hugged him like the son he pretty much was in her mind. "…'Mommy'?" Rumble nuzzled up against Zephyr's cheek. "We m-mi-missed you, m-mommy!" She smiled, even despite Galvatron's presence. "I missed you guys too," she said, reaching out to pet Ravage and Scorponok in turn. Galvatron rolled his optics and shook his head, disgusted, then walked off. She relaxed slightly once he was out of sight. "Have you been behaving yourselves while I was away?" The three nodded, just before a groaning Ironhide stumbled into the hallway, rubbing his head. Upon seeing the three there he growled. _"You little hooligans!" _Rumble squeaked loudly and the three ran as fast as their legs could carry them as the weapons specialist chased after. "…Guess not." She almost laughed at that. Almost. In the wake of their departure, she slowly stood back up from where they had tackled her to the floor. Staring in the direction Galvatron had gone, she shivered again. Her happiness and confidence were all gone, replaced by terror and uncertainty… again.

Megatron, Ratchet, and Optimus all laughed at the little scene. It was amusing to watch their old friend chase the little rascals around. Not a sound escaped Zephyr, however. She wasn't even looking in the same direction as they were. No, she was staring after Galvatron, her mind fairly close to being blank. Megatron saw her distraction and knelt in front of her. "Are you all right?" She jumped, startled. It was obvious that she was badly shaken. "I'll take that as a no," he said seriously. "What's troubling you?" She withdrew slightly. "H-he…" She cast another glance in the direction Galvatron had gone, as if expecting him to return at any second, then looked down in embarrassment. Megatron looked in the direction she was looking and sighed, knowing who. He knew she was afraid of him. Galvatron knew. And with the alliance in effect, he probably figured he was safe from retribution…

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Well, THAT ain't good…


	14. Running scared

-1He knows when to quit, he just chooses not to.

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A few days passed before he struck again… Zephyr was heading back to her room after a rather lengthy day of both tending to her duties and at least _trying_ to work with the Decepticons… minus Galvatron, of course. She was looking forward to just relaxing for a while. Maybe things would be all right… Galvatron walked along the hallway, hoping to catch his former 'playmate' alone. He smiled and sneaked towards her. Zephyr, for her part, had no clue that he was anywhere near. Yawning a little, she felt her energy levels beginning to drop. "Maybe a little energon wouldn't be a bad idea either," she mused. As Zephyr turned around, there stood Galvatron with his trademark grin. "Hello, Zephyr," he chimed. She gasped, frozen for a moment as stark panic raced through her. Galvatron wrapped an arm around her while turning, as if they were the best of friends, and walked down the hall. "Let me accompany you to the mess hall," he said happily. "N-no thank you," she managed, pulling away. "Aw, come now," he smiled. "Don't let what I am make you shy…" She tried to hide her fright, but the slight quaver in her voice gave her away. "Wh-why should I trust you after what you did?" He grinned. "It's called forgive and forget, my dear, and because we are allied due to the impending doom upon us all." She retreated a little more, seriously considering just plain running. Her fear disgusted her, but she couldn't deny it. She was afraid. Galvatron grabbed her hand and smiled, jerking her to him. "Now let's get you some energon," he purred. She tried to pull away. "L-let go of me!" He pulled her closer. "Give me a reason why I should, little…" he started and whispered the next word to her, "…Bunny…" Okay, she'd just lost her grip on her panic. _"I said let go!"_ Her voice was a little sharper as she tried to pull free. Galvatron only smiled and pushed her against the wall. "How does it feel?" he started. "How does it feel to fear someone stronger than you? This is how you should have felt with my father, yet you made him weak and turned him into our enemy! You little glitch, I swear you will pay far more dearly than you already have," he growled, his eyes intense. Her mind went blank for a moment, stark panic robbing her of all ability to think. Frozen like a deer in headlights, too frightened to even shiver, she just watched him, dead sure that he was going to either kill her or rape her again. Only one thought passed through her mind, a desperate scream… _//'Oh God, somebody help me!'// _That brief flash, that one cry, was all that passed through the link before panic forced it into silence.

Megatron was in the mess hall enjoying some energon with his brother and comrades when he felt and heard a scream of panic, he jumped up, bumping the table and sending each drink spilling everywhere. _"Zephyr!" _he yelled in acknowledgement and sprinted out of the mess hall. She had to do something… had to get him away from her. Her power… but she was too afraid to access it! Galvatron smiled and made his move to kiss and press himself against her, when a powerful force sent him flying, making him crash into the floor hard. He was temporarily dazed and felt like he had just been hit by a train. Her mind was a whirling vortex of stark hysteria as she noted that he wasn't holding her anymore. Only one idea came to her. 'Run… run away! _Run away!_' her mind shrieked at her and an instant later she was in motion, sprinting as if the Devil himself was after her, sprinting like Sam had on that day, her only thought to get away, as far away as possible… Megatron looked over his shoulder from the dazed Galvatron and saw Zephyr running. "Zephyr!" he called to her, but she was already gone.

She didn't know where she was going and she didn't care, it didn't matter as long as it was _away,_ far away from the demon of her earliest All Spark dreams brought to life, not Megatron this time but Galvatron… Exiting the building, she leapt into the air and transformed. Setting her thrusters on maximum burn, giving it everything she had even despite the fact that she was low on power, she arbitrarily picked a direction and shot off. Megatron pushed Galvatron to Optimus. "Throw him in the brig. I don't _care_ if we need their help to fight Unicron, I will not allow him to harass Zephyr," he growled, pointing at his 'son'. She flew until she could fly no farther… until she could no longer spare enough power for her thrusters. Transforming, she landed and fell to hands and knees. Still the urge was there, the terror-born drive to flee as far as she could, so she stood back up and ran as best she could, knowing she wouldn't get very far but praying it was enough. Megatron watched Optimus drag a pissed-off Galvatron down the hall. He sighed and walked out of the building, wondering if he could get through to her. //"Zephyr, where are you? I know you're low on fuel…"//

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Wow, what a jerk…


	15. Canyon confessions

-1Yup, he scared her off, all right.

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His voice came to her as she stumbled onward, now barely able to stand up but still being driven onward by her fear. "I don't know where I am either…" Megatron sighed. //"You have to stop running so I can find you easier, plus if you keep running like you are you're going to lose more fuel."// A moment later, he transformed and took to the skies, a jet on a mission. She looked around. Wherever she'd ended up, it seemed like a metallic equivalent of high cliffs, solar power stations arrayed beneath the stars. Still she continued onward. 'Why am I running? I'm not being chased…' Megatron searched over the surrounding city, finding no signs of Zephyr, then headed for its outskirts. Still feeling that she was running, he set his thrusters to maximum burn. She had no idea what was driving her so relentlessly, why the fear wouldn't stop, or what she was trying to flee from. 'This is insane… What's happening to me?' Megatron passed over a row of solar collectors and decided to land. Transforming in midair, he set foot on the slick untouched metal and looked around. Everything was quiet and there was no sign of movement.

A wide canyon spread out before her, filling her with awe. Even the Grand Canyon on Earth had nothing on this place… The canyon she looked upon seemed to reach right down to the planet's core! There was no way she could cross… not now, with her thrusters offline from lack of fuel. //Staring down into the canyon's depths, she felt as if she could just fall straight in…// Megatron smiled, now having the knowledge of what she was near. He jumped up and transformed, skimming over the metallic ground as if it were water. Dizzy, she stumbled and fell. For a moment she feared she was going over the cliff, but no, she merely collapsed to her knees, unable to stay standing. Megatron took a sharp left as he found the canyon, flying over the great gap in the planet, searching its cliff edges for his beloved Zephyr.

Staring out into the canyon, she felt a need to say something, as if the pain and suffering of the last few months had suddenly decided that it couldn't stay bottled up inside her anymore. All the things that had happened… all the pain, the shame, the fear… She couldn't hold it in anymore. She had to talk… or pray. Clasping her hands before her and bowing her head, she spoke in a hesitant voice. "Are you out there, God? It's me, Sarah… Or Zephyr, as I'm now called. Should I pray to you, whatever god or gods rule over my homeland and the human race? I was human once, but not anymore. I guess the gods of Earth would no longer consider me one of theirs. Or should I pray to _you, _Primus? Though I wear this form now, I wasn't born this way. …I suppose I'm not one of yours either." She sighed. "I walk the middle line now. Not quite one side and not quite the other, belonging to neither. Neither fish nor fowl, as humans would put it. I've fought for this world, died for this world… I returned life to this world… But I don't belong in this world, or on Earth. I don't belong… anywhere. Is this why the Regeneration just about killed me? I only live now because of Megatron's choice… Was I meant to die?"

A few minutes of silence followed. "…They tell me Unicron is coming. He decimated the Decepticon Armada and drove the rest of them here to seek an alliance with us. That's bad enough as is. Having to deal with them… It's nearly impossible! I've lost track of how many arguments and standoffs I've broken up. They'd like nothing more than to kill us all. And their leader…" She gave a wordless growl of anger and hate at the thought of him. "Galvatron is a sexually insane embarrassment to all Decepticons everywhere. He says I corrupted Megatron, and he's intent on making me pay for it. Like I haven't paid enough? Isn't almost a year of being his sex toy enough, especially with him rubbing it in at every turn? For all my power, I fear him more than anything!"

Making a fist, she punched the ground helplessly as the pain welled up inside her again. "Curse him for making me afraid… Curse him for everything he did to me! I wanted my first time to be voluntary… I wanted it to be with someone I loved!" Hiding her face in her hands, she wept like a lost child. "Maybe he's right… Maybe I _am_ weak. With all this power, I should fear nothing! I should be stronger… I need more power. I'll be the most powerful being in the universe… and no one will ever hurt me again." She caught herself with a start, then sighed. "Was this how it started for you, Megatron? Did your quest for the ultimate power start with a moment like this one?" A smile crept onto her face at the thought of him. "I'm not worth your love, Megatron. You deserve someone stronger, someone… greater. Not a weak little former human who flees in fear from a single Decepticon…" Her sobs grew in strength, shaking her fuel-starved body. "Primus… Whoever… I don't care anymore. If he can't find someone better than me, if I'm really the only one for him, weakness and all, then at least give me the strength to prove myself worthy of his love! I don't want to be afraid anymore… I don't want to be weak…"

She shivered. When had it become so cold? Then it dawned on her. The lack of fuel was taking its toll. Her systems were starting to shut down, one by one. Internal temperature control was just the first to go. Everything was spinning now. Which way was away from the cliff? She couldn't think clearly, so she wasn't quite afraid as she realized there wasn't any ground beneath her anymore. 'Well, _that_ wasn't the right direction…' The moment elongated into an eternity and she found herself staring up at the sky as she began to fall. There was something in the sky, a shape, something passing by… Thunder echoed in her hearing, the roar of engines… 'Am I flying after all?' The shape swooped down and came up beneath her, making her land upon its back. "Need a lift?" came a familiar voice. She barely had time to register that she wasn't falling anymore before the shutdown completed itself, sending her into emergency stasis lock. Megatron flew off back to the city, his precious cargo lying limply on his back. She would be very surprised to find herself alive, that was for certain.

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Galvatron's really making her doubt herself.


	16. Asshats and broken truces

-1The last chapter was an interlude.

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Once again in the confines of a white room was the lifeless Zephyr, Ratchet busily trying to get energon into her so she could become conscious again. He sighed and looked at her blank face. "You sure are keeping me busy lately," he said, not expecting an answer. Awareness began to return slowly, ever so slowly… The first thing she noticed was that she wasn't falling. That had been the last thing she'd remembered. Ratchet tapped Zephyr's midsection, hoping to get some sort of response, seeing that he recharged her and got her out of stasis lock. She flinched slightly, more out of reflex than anything else. Her eyes opened. "H-hey… what the…" Ratchet smiled. "Ah, so sleeping beauty wakes, and Megatron didn't even have to kiss you," the medic joked, which got him a kick in the leg from the Decepticon in question, who had come inside just in time to do so. Looking around, she had no idea how she'd gotten there. "How did I…?" Ratchet, who was now rubbing his leg, pointed at Megatron with his thumb. Turning to look at him, she just smiled. //It all seemed so_ stupid_ now. She shouldn't be so _afraid_ of Galvatron…// He felt her thoughts. "No you shouldn't, because I am here to protect you, besides, he's in the brig now," he said with a smile. She tried to sit up to greet him properly. "But still, to just run like that! Curse him… How did he make me into a coward?" Megatron was silent for a moment and nodded. "Because of what he did, I believe." She shook her head in shame. "Somehow I just can't shake the feeling that this is only the beginning… Judging from what he said, I'd guess he has worse in store for me, first chance he gets." There was a pause. "I'll make sure it doesn't happen," Megatron assured her. She smiled timidly. Somewhere deep down, she doubted he could. Galvatron would find a way.

Meanwhile down in the brig, which was being watched over by Jazz, the Decepticons stood in their little cell. Galvatron scowled evilly. Jazz sighed and leaned up against the wall, tired and bored out of his mind. He soon closed his eyes knowing, or thinking, nothing bad could happen. Galvatron smiled. "Now's our chance," he whispered to his comrades. They smiled and Frostbite cooled the bars until Whiplash broke them easily.

Zephyr was up and around again, this time very uncertain. She hated what Galvatron had made her into… a weak, frightened little shadow of her former self. 'Will I never be the same?' Thundering footsteps came down the opposing hallway. She whipped around to look in that direction. _"What's going on?!"_ The figures of Galvatron and his Decepticons could be seen as they stopped and looked around for a way out. Galvatron looked in Zephyr's direction and smiled, sending his troops in the direction they should go to leave and walked over to her. "Ah, Zephyr." She froze momentarily. "Aw man, not again…" This time the fear was impure. There was anger there as well. Still, she stepped backward, ready to just run. Before she could do anything, Galvatron grabbed her arm. "Oh _heck _no!" Trying to pull away, she clawed at him with her free hand. He growled. "Ha! You think that hurts? You know you can't fight me," he smiled. "Not after how much you wanted me, and begged me to do those things to you…" She roared in anger at that. "_You lying scum! _I'd rather sleep with a dead rat!" Aiming a kick, she tried to claw him again. "There is _no_ way I'm going _anywhere_ with you, you sexually insane embarrassment of a Decepticon!" Galvatron frowned and glared at Zephyr. "How dare you!" He grabbed her by her neck with both hands and began to strangle her. Struggling against him, she managed to choke out three words. _"I_…_ hate_…_ you!"_//She was afraid at first, but only at first. Then anger took command.// An explosion of blue fire threw the two apart. Galvatron yelled in surprise as he was flung backwards. Megatron felt something through the link and growled. 'More trouble,' he thought, and headed out in search of Zephyr. She clutched at her throat for a moment. _"I've had enough," _she growled.

Galvatron stood and looked at Zephyr with a hatred so malicious that it made the Devil himself look nice. Highlights crackling, she retained enough composure to let him make the first move. "After you." There was a long pause. "…Aw, why waste time on politeness?" Her corona of blue fire moved with her, tracing every motion with a line of light as she decided not to wait and instead charged Galvatron. He growled and ran at her as well, ready to throw a punch. Faking a sideways swipe with her claws, she then aimed a punch at his face, her strength boosted by the power she held. Now, in this moment, she could match him as she hadn't been able to before. He was sent in a high arc and fell down to the ground due to gravity. A short laugh escaped her, the first time she'd laughed since her 'low blow' to him almost a year earlier. "That felt good… and was a long time coming!" Moving in closer, she decided to press her advantage. Galvatron abruptly shot back to his feet, a little worse for wear but otherwise fine. Zephyr grinned at the anger in his eyes. He looked like he wanted to do worse than kill her. This pleased her, as she was finally getting back at him. Chuckling delightedly, she beckoned to him. "You want some of this? Huh? _Huh? _You want some?" Flexing his claws, by that point thoroughly enraged, he charged at her with a furious snarl. "No, I'll take _all_ of it!"

Megatron ran down the hallway with his troops behind him, skidding to a stop as he found a scene unraveling before him. It was a truly epic battle, like two gods clashing. Galvatron and Zephyr were locked in savage combat at the center of a roaring storm of blue lightning. Megatron made an attempt to break up the fight but was stopped by the rest of the Decepticons. //His arrival surprised her. "…Megatron?"// She paused for a split second, a fatal error at the sight of him… Galvatron smiled at his opponent's weakness and took it upon himself to finish the fight with a low blow. An utterly embarrassing yelp escaped her as she was sent headfirst into a wall with a loud crash. //There was a rush of white as everything blanked out for a moment.// Limp as a rag doll, she slumped to the floor. Megatron roared in anger at that. "Get out of my way, you fools!"

Galvatron looked over at his father and gave him the most psychotic look ever. "Why should they, 'Daddy'? We want you to enjoy the show," he growled murderously and took out a cannon from his arm, aiming it at Zephyr. A soft groan escaped her as she stirred slightly. //Awareness returned only dimly, a swirling, murky haze of smeared colors and semi-distorted voices.// "No, Zephyr!" Megatron yelled, trying to push past the Decepticon ranks. //The world was spinning violently, but that was starting to die down. 'He's still out there... I have to get up!'// Moving a little slowly, she tried to stand up. "Ah, ah, ah," came that dark, familiar voice as the cannon came to life. "Wh-wha…?" her voice was badly slurred. Had she been human, hitting the wall would have given her a very bad concussion. Wavering momentarily, she then fell back down. _"Stay still," _he growled, making the cannon whine louder. Grimacing weakly, shuddering where she lay, that same blue lightning struggled to come back. Her internal repair systems were starting to take the proverbial edge off the concussion, but it was happening far too slowly to be much of a help. Galvatron smiled evilly and shot a blast right next to her head, missing her. "Oops, I missed," he chuckled. Megatron nearly had a spark attack from the action. //Stark, unreasoning terror filled her as her mind cleared enough for her to realize what was going on.// Whimpering softly to herself, she froze like a deer in headlights. Galvatron gave a loud, satisfied laugh and motioned for his Decepticons to follow him down the hall. They obliged. She didn't know what to do. He was there, she was helpless… Megatron finally took the chance to kneel down at her side, trying to see if she was all right. She shook her head, trying to clear it. "Think I'll be all right… in a little while…" Megatron nodded and took her into his arms.

Galvatron grinned, even more psychotically than normal if that was possible. "Lucky you, 'Daddy'. You get to watch." Megatron looked up and found his 'son' right there next to Zephyr, yanking her away from him and handling her roughly. She squirmed weakly in his grasp, trying to break free, to push him away, something, _anything_ would do… "N-no…" He grinned. "_Yes, _my dear," he said placing a hand on her chest. Shaking her head weakly, she tried to pull away. "Don't… _please_…" He slithered his hand lower and smiled. "Give me a good reason why…" A gasp escaped her and she put all her remaining strength into a desperate attempt to break free. "N-no more… Not again…" He removed her pelvic plates and gripped the bared area harder. "Are you watching, 'Daddy'? I'm going to show you how a _real_ man treats a girl like this." A wordless yelp of pain and utter horror escaped her. Galvatron roared with hearty laughter as he began to hurt her, Megatron not able to do a thing but stand there in shock. Pleas for him to stop swiftly became cries of pain as she fought against him with everything she had left. "S-stop!" Megatron ordered, and would have intervened had the other Decepticons not stepped in to restrain him. Galvatron smirked. "_Make me, _'Daddy'." Shaking her head in mortal desperation, she voiced her final plea. "No more, Galvatron, I beg of you…"

Galvatron moaned slightly and smiled. "_Never, _my little bunny," he growled to her and hurt her harder. Shuddering as wave after wave of pure agony ripped through her, she threw her head back and screamed. In so doing she met her beloved's gaze and he could see the stark, shrieking terror that filled her. For her part, she didn't even seem to see him. Megatron's breath caught as he saw this and anger ripped through him like he was tissue paper. A pool of energon was beginning to form beneath them both, but it was obvious that all of it was hers. Her struggles were beginning to weaken. "Let her go, Galvatron; _now!_" Megatron roared. Galvatron thought for a moment, stopping what he was doing to her, just for a little while… until he hurt her again to watch the other Decepticon's reaction, which gave him a satisfied smile. Her shaky voice was barely a whisper. "S-stop it… stop…" Galvatron snorted and hurt Zephyr one last time, then let her drop to the floor and walked off. "Slut," he announced before disappearing. Sobbing like a lost child, all she could do was lie in her own spilled energon and shudder. Megatron knelt down and held her close, calling Ratchet quickly, everyone helping pick her up and take her to the repair bay. Barely clinging to consciousness, she looked to her love with wild, almost crazed eyes and fought to speak at least a few words. "…Don't…" That was all she could manage for a few moments. Megatron stopped, wondering what she had meant, now alone outside the repair bay. "…Don't look at me…" The last thought to pass through her mind before she finally lost consciousness was a wish for a way to hide her shame.

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Well, the truce looks pretty much kaput… That SOOO can't be good!

Review, dammit!


	17. Riddles and impossibilities

-1Here's the REAL next chapter.

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The repairs were finally complete, but she had yet to wake up. Lying in the bed they'd placed her on, she almost appeared dead. The faint sound of weak breathing was the only clue otherwise. Megatron walked in and sat in a chair next to the bed, feeling a sense of having done this before, but shook it off. He watched her almost lifeless body with hope, hope that she would wake up. "Come back to me, Zephyr…" Consciousness was slowly starting to come back, but it was taking its sweet time. Instead of waking up, she dreamed, dreams full of suffering, of pain, but not memories, no, worse than memories… Megatron took her hand in his and laid his head upon it hopefully. "I'll make him pay… I swear it." She gasped slightly at something in her dreams, shuddering ever so slightly. He looked up to see Zephyr shiver and ran his hand up and down her arm soothingly. Her breath caught in a sob as the tranquil expression on her face shattered into pure horror. "Zephyr," he whispered, running his hand along her neck to gently caress her face. She whimpered softly, shivering at his touch. Caught in dreams, she talked in her sleep, begging for someone to stop something, _pleading_… It almost broke Megatron's spark to hear her plead like that, he'd had to hear it before, and he felt sickened at himself that he hadn't been able to help her. But the realization of two things drove such thoughts from his mind. The first was that the All Spark's power was playing across her prone body even though she'd been fully repaired, and the second was that she didn't sound like she was talking about Galvatron… Squirming, trying to draw away from some unseen enemy, her pleas grew stronger as she fought her way toward awakening. "Zephyr," he said, trying to get her attention. _"Zephyr," _he said again, louder and sharper this time. "…don't do it… please… don't… I… _**NO!**_" The last word was flat-out _screamed_ as she jerked awake. Had she been fully awake, she would have bolted straight up in her bed. Her next few words, however, made no sense. "So _that's_ Unicron…"

Megatron just about smacked her to bring her round. "What is going on?" he asked worriedly, wondering why she was screaming. Badly shaken, she shivered. "I… I saw Unicron." Semi-confused, he just repeated the last word. "Unicron." Her voice shook. "Galvatron was right. He's for real. I watched him devour a whole planet." That snapped him out of his confusion. "Well, then we need to act quickly, we must prepare for battle as soon as possible, we may not know how far he is from us, be we must be ready," Megatron said with a firm nod. Only one question came to her. "But with the alliance broken, what are we to do?" He smiled. "We will find a way," he said, taking Zephyr's hand in his own. The power turned on her again, that unmistakable blue light dancing upon her head like a glittering tiara of lightning and stars. A look of surprise flashed across her face before all awareness seemed to leave her. This shocked him. "What in Primus's name…" That was all for a few seconds, her staring mindlessly into space as the energy crawled across her… Megatron took her by her shoulders and shook her. "Zephyr?"

Her mouth moved soundlessly as if she was trying to speak, still no awareness in her eyes, no reaction to what he was doing. He had no idea what to do, so he just knelt there shaking her, trying to do anything to wake her up. Eventually she managed to speak, each syllable a struggle. "B…be…beware…" He paused again "Beware what? Unicron?" She shuddered. It was as if she wasn't the one speaking at all. No, it seemed more like something was trying to speak through her but having a hard time doing so. Megatron spoke again, trying to get whatever was speaking through her to explain itself. "Beware what, Zephyr?" The words came in a rush. "Beware the cry… of Heaven's light." He stared at her for a moment, dazed and extremely confused. "Zephyr, what does that mean?" She went limp for a few seconds as whatever had been speaking through her released its hold on her, and he grabbed her before she hit the floor. Her eyes opened. "What… what just happened?" He answered her as truthfully as he could. "I'm not sure, but you said something about, beware the cry of Heaven's light." She shook her head as if to clear it. "But what does that mean?" He shrugged. "I'm not quite sure myself." She was completely baffled. "It's some kind of puzzle, I think. A clue."

Deep in thought, she tried to find the answer. "Well…" Megatron pondered for a moment. "Another word for a cry is a scream, I would believe, correct?" She nodded. "Yes… That sounds right." Pleased with that little bit of progress, he paused. "But what I don't get is Heaven's light." She pondered as well. Her human past gave her an idea. "Well, on Earth, Heaven sometimes used as another word for the sky." Putting both halves together in his mind, he put forth a guess. "Something along the lines of 'screaming sky', maybe?" She shrugged, thinking that perhaps things were starting to come together. "But the 'light' part. What lights the sky?" Another guess came to him in answer to her question. "The moon?" She shook her head at that. "Somehow, that… just doesn't sound right." Looking for a window, she gazed up at the eternal night sky. Staring up beside her, Megatron snapped his fingers. "Stars!" She repeated the cryptic clue to herself. "Beware the cry of Heaven's light… Beware the scream of the stars?" Her eyes went wide. "…Sweet. Zombie. Jesus." she said, unconsciously reverting to human speech patterns. Megatron nearly fell over backwards when he realized it. Her voice (and jaw) dropped. _"_…_Starscream?"_ He followed her shocked reaction "But… but how?" She shook her head. "I have absolutely no idea." Disbelief filled him. "…It's impossible," he eventually scoffed. Zephyr gave him a look that fairly screamed 'Oh really?' "So are giant planet-eating monsters, to the best of my knowledge." He was caught there. She buried her face in her hands. "I'm dreaming, right? This is all just a nightmare and I'm going to wake up any minute and go back to the sane, normal world I'm used to." He moved in a little closer to her. "I believe that it's not a dream," he said lightly. "Otherwise I couldn't do _this._" He kissed her deeply. She fell into his arms, returning his kiss joyfully. //She was afraid, terribly afraid of what was coming, not knowing what to do…// Megatron pulled away from the kiss. "It will be all right, Zephyr, I promise you." His words calmed her. Together, they could face anything.

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That would be the end of 'Sins of the Father'. Next up, the Unicron interlude, which I originally meant to be the epilogue to this story! I put it up because I had to give you guys SOMETHING…


	18. Epilogue: the gathering storm

-1From the darkest abysses of space it came… a terror like no other. The nameless solar system was home to six planets, one of which bore life. A primitive species had risen up to claim intelligence, and they were just entering what would have been their Stone Age… had the intruder not come. The interstellar marauder went undetected as it prowled through the solar system, zeroing in on the blue-green world. It made its approach from the daylight side, throwing half the planet into a solar eclipse that had nothing to do with any moon. No, this was far worse. Screams arose and prayers were uttered as faces turned toward the sky to behold their doom. The sun's corona threw the intruder into shadow, glinting orange and silver off its rugged metallic surface, and the wholly orange ring that encircled its slowly approaching form.

Had there been any present to see it from space, they would have known true fear. It looked like a planet, it was big enough to _be_ a planet, but what planet in the universe's history could ever have boasted of being composed purely of metal, much less metal refined enough to sparkle in the light of the sun? The orange-hued ring it bore seemed tipped on its side, in that rather than encircling the equator it ran from northern pole to southern pole and back again. Two great inward-curving obelisks stood on either side of a ring of interlocking plates that looked almost like the petals of some immense metal flower… or the teeth of some unknown predator. The 'petals' began to rise slowly, the nightmarish flower blooming, to reveal a perfectly round aperture like an immense, hellish eye, in which a phosphorescent green fire seemed to roil and churn. The twin obelisks arrowed inward like the mandibles of an insect, the seemingly finely honed curving points digging deep into the planet's rocky surface and drawing it inward toward where the fully spread 'petals' stood fully extended like a row of jagged teeth. The light from that titanic orifice went from eerie green to a diabolical red as a powerful vacuum formed, drawing the rapidly disintegrating planet into its fiery depths… not an eye, after all, but a mouth. Not a scrap of atmosphere escaped that swirling vortex, not even the smallest pebble went unconsumed. No, every last little piece of matter was devoured, fueling a bottomless, insatiable hunger as ancient as the universe itself, if not more so.

In no time at all the deed was done, and only the intruder remained. Of the other planet there was no sign. It was as if there had never been anything there other than the intruder, that the intruder had been there all along. For a few moments it just stayed in place, orbiting as its victim had, before the relentless hunger returned… not for nourishment; no, it had _never_ been for nourishment… This was a hunger for destruction. The ring it bore shifted, revealing itself as a series of flat panels. Moving in perfect unison, these flat panels made a quarter turn, exposing their broad sides to the light of the sun to catch the solar wind and act as a kind of sail. Leaving utter devastation in its wake, the intruder sped on.

The year was, by human terms, 2012. To Megatron and the rest of his people, it was Year 2, Post-Regeneration.

Unicron was coming.


End file.
